A New World
by Sladin5Ever
Summary: ON HIATUS! He remembered everything: the good times before and the bad times after. Only now, there was nothing good, nothing worth living for. But he was forced to promise to hold on, to keep fighting, to keep living. Yes, Robin remembered everything and he couldn't change the past. But he could at least change the future. A future he still had a spark for saving
1. A New World Prologue

_**It's simple**_

The entire world had gone to war…

_**There is good, and there is evil**_

It didn't matter if you were good or bad. If you crossed the wrong person, you had to fight or die. Soldiers from every side fought ruthlessly, some even taking a prize of some unfortunate soul…

_**There are those who commit crimes…**_

"Well look what we have here."

Two men had cornered a very notable hero with no defenses. One handed his weapon to his companion and then reached for the front of his belt. The hero's masked eyes widened, his teeth lightly clenched together. The soldier moved towards him after dropping his belt to the ground and while unzipping his army cargo pants. He smirked cruelly, licking his lips seductively.

"Where's your fighting spirit now, you stupid little, punk-ass, hero bitch?"

The demented man reached down for him…

…_**And those who stop them**_

Before he could grab the hero's arm and yank him forward to lay on the ground, there was a sound of a scuffle behind him. He didn't have time to check what was going on before he was knocked to the ground. His companion had landed on him, forcing him sideways. They scrambled to get off each other when a dark shadow descended menacingly upon them. They stopped to look up and then strongly swallowed nervously.

"He's mine," a dark voice hissed.

That's all the incentive the two men needed in order to get to their feet and flee like dogs with their tails between their legs. Once they were far away, the shadow moved and faced the hero still cowering against the wall. His eyes widened as a man he knew all too well approached him, his hand removing his own belt and dropping it. As he pulled down the zipper to his black Kevlar pants, his shadow covered the hero and his large body hid him from view…

_**The two sides are opposite, as different as night and day**_

There was a battle taking place. Rifles were fired, grenades were being thrown, and bangs and explosions filled the air. There were at least thirty-to-forty people taking on two individuals: one tall, the other short. The two were making quick work of these men, injuring them to near death, like their lives depended on it. In the distance, more fighters with weapons were approaching to help out. It didn't take long for the two to knock down all but three of the men. As a last resort, one of the men pulled out a small detonation device that was the shape of a hockey puck. He chucked it towards the tallest of the two right before his right foot landed…

_**But the line between them can be almost impossible to find**_

The last three men were knocked down. Several feet away was the tallest man, lying flat on his back and snarling in terrible pain. The smaller, younger one rushed to him and inspected the landmines' damage. His stomach churned by what he saw…

_**It's supposed to be simple**_

"Don't let them get away!"

With all his strength, the young man forced the older one to his left leg. Blood dripped from a stump that was once his right. The explosion had taken it clean off. Taking out a few bombs from his utility belt, the boy threw them at the oncoming men. They exploded on impact with the ground, snow and mud skyrocketing into the air. Smoke and fire blocked the two companions from the other soldiers, allowing them to slip away.

After hours of fleeing with difficulty, the boy stopped from exhaustion and he and the man fell to the ground. Snow started to fall from the dark heavens. After setting the man aside, the boy with lifeless and hard blue eyes slowly looked up, his face void of emotion…

_**But it's not**_

Some dialogue from Teen Titans Season 3, episode 2, X (bolded/italicized words)


	2. A New World Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans or the characters within it. I do have a few OCs that will appear later though

This story was inspired by Wynja's drabble by the same title. Think of it as a continuation after Bruce asks Slade to take Robin in despite the fact he had raped him. You might have noticed the reference from the drabble in chapter 1, aka the prologue. I didn't post the disclaimer or anything in chapter 1 because I wanted to keep it with JUST the story part. The bold and italicized sentences were taken from the episode X from Season 3, when Robin is speaking that monologue. I took some of the parts from the beginning and end of the episode. I tried to make them fit with the story telling as well and I like the result. Hope you did too :)

Anyway, enjoy the story! Reviews are forever loved!

**SladinForever**

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><p>It was snowing lightly. The forest trees were covered in snow from several days' time. The sky was filled with heavy grey clouds, not a sliver of the sun seeping through. The wind was bitingly cold and strong. Everything just seemed destroyed…<p>

Snow crunched underneath tattered shoes. Blood dripped onto the snow from a dead rabbit as it was carried by a young man with black hair. In the distance sat a cave with a dim wavering light coming from it. Walking in a minute later, the young man moved to the back where a weak fire was blazing. Behind it, an older, white-haired man rested against a traveler's pack. His right leg was now a stump that ended just below the knee. Hearing the boy, he looked up and saw him enter.

"Was there anyone near-by?"

Stopping by the fire, the teen dropped the rabbit with a thud and a splat. "No, we're safe for the time being."

He sat down to start skinning the rabbit. The man watched him work. "Do you think you were followed at all?"

"I made sure no one saw me."

"Are you sure about that?"

The boy looked up to glare in annoyance at him from his badgering questioning. "Of course I'm sure, Slade. I'm not a fucking idiot."

Slade's eyes narrowed at him. "Just because I'm injured, Robin, doesn't mean I can't punish you for back talking me."

Robin threw the rabbit fur and skin into a corner of the cave. "Pushing your buttons is worth it," he said snidely. Slade snorted. "How long until your leg grows back anyway?"

Slade looked down at his covered stump, reached for the legging that covered it, and pulled it back. Right below his partly ruined knee cap, part of the leg bone was sticking out and the muscle and tendons around it seemed to be moving like a bowl full of wiggling worms. Whatever it was doing, it seemed to expand and form into new flesh, blood, and bone.

"I'd say seven or eight more days." He threw the legging back over it. Robin had the rabbit sitting on the fire, cooking. "With how horrible the injury is, it will take a long time. We're just going to have to wait it out until I can walk properly again. But don't think I will forget your ungrateful mouth later."

Scooting back to the cave wall, Robin leaned against it, staring at the fire. "Whatever."

The cave went silent except for the crackling of the fire. Grabbing his weapons bag, Slade opened it and began pulling out the various weapons they had on their person. He kept a mental list of what all they had left. They had lost a few bombs since the night his leg had been blown off by a landmine. He had scolded himself for being so sloppy. He should have known the soldier that threw the mine was gonna do just that. Thankfully, due to the darkness and Robin's quick thinking, they had gotten out of their dire situation quickly. Slade experienced pain every now and again in his leg, but otherwise, they were safe and sound.

After Slade had sorted everything into piles, he figured out what they didn't have. Eyes narrowing almost to slits, he sighed. "We're almost out of ammo."

Robin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "The next haven is only five days of walking time away."

"Once my leg is better, we better make it four."

Robin softly snorted. "You expect us to walk around aimlessly in the pitch dark all night?"

Slade started putting the artillery away. "My perfect sense of direction won't let us walk around aimlessly. But yes, I expect both of us to walk during the night, and without complaints. I don't give a damn how much your feet and legs hurt."

Robin rolled his eyes before looking back at the fire. After twenty minutes of silence, the rabbit looked about ready to eat. Taking out his machete, Robin got up, put it in the flames, and then stabbed the rabbit. He pulled it out, set it on the ground, and then began chopping it up into strips. Slade had all of their equipment put away and was resting with his eyes closed. Once dinner was ready, Robin took four pieces for himself and then stood up with Slade's three pieces. He walked over to him.

"Do you want your portion?"

Opening his eyes, Slade looked at his hand, which had the rabbit meat offered to him. He placed his right hand on top of Robin's and took the hot pieces from him. "Thank you. Put the rest away."

Without a word, Robin turned around and went back to his spot. He sat back down to eat, the meat almost too tough to bite into. It took a hard tug to get a part off. Slade was being smarter, using an army knife to make swallowable pieces. He didn't actually need to eat, but it would at least help speed up the healing process by half an hour. If they didn't need to save so much food as they traveled, he would've had more.

After Robin was done eating, he grabbed a towel from his backpack and wrapped the rest of the rabbit in it. He put it aside on the ground with the rest of their pitiful rations. Yawning, he slid forward and laid on his side, his back to Slade and the warm fire. It toasted his back to keep him just warm enough from the freezing cold outside. Slade moved himself forward a little more until the back of his head rested against his pack. Turning it to the left, he closed his eyes to rest. Then the only noise was that of the crackling fire.

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><p>After four and a half days, Slade's foreleg was a little over halfway healed. The skin would grow back last, but it was already starting. It didn't hurt as it grew back, but it was annoying to feel like the leg was still there. Robin was just milling around outside the cave, trying to keep his mind off the boredom. He had also gone to search for food the last few days with no luck. The rabbit had been the only thing left around their location. The two were completely and utterly alone.<p>

"For the next two days, we shouldn't eat," Slade said on their fifth night in the cave. "We're low on food enough as it is." Robin's stomach growled after a few seconds, but he ignored it. They were silent for a long time again. Looking up, Slade stared at Robin for a few seconds. He was leaning against the cave wall, his legs drawn up to his chest. His eyes were partly closed as he stared off into space. Slade blinked. "Come here." Glancing over his shoulder, Robin saw him staring. He looked away again without a word. Slade's eyes narrowed in a glare. "Don't ignore me."

"Or what?" Robin asked in a low voice. "Going to kick me around?" Slade's hands curled into tight fists. "Oh, wait, I forgot, you can't. So fuck off." Quickly pulling out a pistol, Slade was ready to shoot him in the back, but he stopped. Snorting at his ridiculousness, he shoved the gun back in his belt and attempted to get up. Looking over his shoulder, Robin saw him struggling. Slade's eyes were clenched tightly shut and he looked like he was in immense pain. Sighing loudly, Robin quickly got up and began walking towards him. "Sit back down, I'm coming." Slade landed with a thud on his tailbone. A lump formed in his throat from it, but he quickly swallowed and coughed it away. Robin stood to his right, staring down at him. "What do you want?"

Once he recovered, Slade reached up and grabbed Robin's wrist. He forced him to crouch down next to him. Robin blinked at him, his face blank. Slade stared into his hard, dark blue eyes for a second or two before reaching for the back of his head.

"I'm going to feed you."

Robin's eyes widened slightly as Slade forced his face down to his crotch. With his back hurting in such a position, he pulled his legs out from under himself and laid by Slade's leg. He tried not to look at the place where the stump was. With his other hand, Slade removed his belt, unzipped his pants, and then pulled his penis out. Gripping the back of Robin's head tight so that he wouldn't pull away, he forced his face to the organ and lifted the head towards his mouth. Robin stared at it with heavily lowered eyelids for a moment before inhaling sharply and opening his mouth wide. He slipped his lips around the tip, sucked for a few seconds, and then slid more of it in his mouth.

"Good boy. Now don't swallow all of it. I could use the protein too."

Ignoring the thought of feeding Slade with mouth-to-mouth, Robin closed his eyes and began to stimulate his slowly forming erection. Slade's grip on his head lessened and then he moved his hand to the nape of his neck. He gently ran two fingers along his hairline, moving his hair a bit. Soon, Robin had almost the full length in his mouth, sucking and licking. Closing his eyes, Slade relished in appreciation as he got excited from Robin's moist, warm mouth. He groaned lightly in satisfaction as he was nearing his ejaculation. Robin could feel it too.

Before Slade came, he gripped the back of his neck and pulled his head back slightly so he wouldn't choke. Robin tensed when warm, sticky liquid entered his mouth, some dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. Slade helped lift his head and mouth from his penis. Robin managed to only swallow about half, making him shudder at the texture.

"Don't forget me, little bird."

Slowly sitting up, Robin got to his knees, moved further up Slade's side, and tilted his head a bit to the right as he led his mouth to Slade's own. He parted his lips to allow him to kiss the rest of his semen into his mouth. He took it in with the help of his tongue, like a cat to warm milk. Robin had his hand resting on the side of his neck as he pressed their lips tight together. When he felt and heard Slade swallow, he drew back and then stared into his eyes, panting softly. Seeing some cum on the corner of his mouth, Slade licked it away.

"Good boy," he said soft and quiet. There was a loud smack sound when Robin slapped him really hard in the face. Slade seemed taken aback by this, but didn't say anything. Forcefully getting to his feet, Robin turned on his heel and stalked out of the cave. Slade stared at the cave mouth with half narrowed eyes. He closed them and then sighed. "So this is the thanks I get for being nice…"

Outside, Robin was kicking snow around to get his anger out. He couldn't believe he let himself do that to Slade. It was the same humiliation and shame he felt when Slade had raped him after saving him from another potential rapist. Robin cursed Bruce over and over again for making Slade take him in after he was killed during battle. It didn't matter if Slade could keep him safe the best out of anyone, it was still a fucked up situation.

"Stupid Bruce… Stupid Slade… Stupid, godforsaken, piece of shit war!" On Robin's next kick, he managed to catch a rock with the toe of his shoe. It hurtled through the air and then hit a tree. Snow jolted out of the dying branches' hold and went _whump _to the ground. Out of his peripheral vision, Robin saw something dart out of sight. His head jerked up in surprise. "Huh?" Robin scanned the area ahead of him. When he saw nothing, he called out, "Hello? Someone there?" Nothing moved or stirred. Robin stared at the place he thought he saw something for a while. When nothing happened, he turned his foot towards the cave and slowly turned. "Maybe I'm just tired."

Sighing again, Robin walked back towards the cave. When he entered, Slade was holding his hands to the fire. It was almost out. They ignored each other as Robin went to his bag and opened a compartment.

"Everything alright out there?" Slade asked when he noticed Robin pulling out a gun.

"I think so."

Slade wasn't convinced. "Did you see something?"

"…I don't know."

Slade's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the sound of that… "Stay alert."

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Almost as soon as he said this, Robin quickly turned, aiming the gun and readying to shoot. His trigger finger froze when he saw a small boy of about ten standing in front of the cave mouth. They stared at each other motionlessly for a moment before Robin slowly lowered the gun. "Were you the thing I thought I saw?" The boy didn't answer. Robin noted his torn, thin clothing. There was snow and mud on them too. "I hope I didn't scare you. Are you hungry?"

Slade glared at him as he approached the boy. "Robin, in case you didn't know, lost children are like cats. The second you start being nice to them and feeding them, they never _leave_."

Stopping in front of the boy, Robin knelt to be at his level. "Can you not talk?" The boy still didn't move or say anything. "You must have come from far away. You're filthy and you look cold." Standing back up, Robin held his hand out to him. "Come on, we won't hurt you." Slade rolled his eyes. "I have dry, warm clothes you can wear."

"Robin, don't even think about it."

Ignoring him, Robin carefully grabbed the boy's hand. When he didn't pull away, he started leading him inside the cave. The boy followed without complaint. Stopping by the fire, Robin let go of his hand and pulled his pack in front of him. He crouched behind it and opened a pouch. He then pulled out a black, sleeveless shirt and grey pants. Turning back to the boy, he set the clothes down and then grabbed the hem of his thin, tattered shirt. He started lifting it up.

"We'll get you warm and dry and then you can…" Robin trailed off, dropping the shirt to the ground. Both he and Slade stared at the boy with astonished eyes. There were bruises, whip marks, and cuts and gashes all over his chest, stomach, and back. The bruises on his stomach seemed to be the worst. Robin stared at a knife wound on his collar bone, his mouth partly open. The boy didn't seem to care about the injuries, despite how painful they all looked. Slowly closing his mouth, Robin looked down at the black t-shirt and picked it up. "You look like you could use some sleep, huh?"

Looking away from the boy's back, Slade stared at Robin with slightly narrowed eyes as he pulled the shirt on over the boy's head. He carefully pulled his arms through the holes and then grabbed the pants. Once he removed the old pair and then put on the new pair, Robin stood up, gently turned the boy around, and moved him to sit close to Slade in front of the fire. He rekindled it with some bark and threw in another lit match. Going back to his pack, he pulled out what little was left of the rabbit and gave it to him.

"I want you to eat that and then go to sleep," Robin said softly. The boy didn't answer. Instead, he slowly took the rabbit meat from Robin's hand and started to eat it, nibbling on the end. Robin stared at him for a few more seconds before walking around him. "I'll be outside to search for food again."

Without another word, Robin left the cave, half of his face shrouded in darkness.


	3. A New World Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2

So you're probably wondering what this boy, who was obviously tortured for _something_, is doing in the story. Well he plays a big role dealing with Robin and the New World War. But I won't get into that ;) You're just gonna have to stick around to find out. And why is Robin acting so strangely since seeing the boy's injuries? You'll find out in this chapter!

**PS:** This story is pretty depressing, so if you don't like that kind of thing or don't want to get sad for the characters, then I wouldn't read. There's nothing cool, fun, or good about war. It's depressing and thus this story will be told as such

**SladinForever**

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><p>Ever since Robin had changed the boy's clothes, he had been quieter than usual. He kept spacing off. Slade would stare at him for a while, to see if he snapped at him, but Robin didn't. He either sat against the cave wall or took a walk out in the cold. The hurt boy was still as silent as ever and stayed by the fire. Slade felt something off about him, but he kept it to himself. The boy was probably just shy and didn't want to talk to strangers. Who could blame him. He clearly had been tortured for information. But what could a ten year old tell? It just made absolutely no sense.<p>

It was now the next afternoon. Robin had returned from a hunting expedition, but came back empty-handed again. His stomach churned from lack of food. He had tried finding berries or some kind of edible fruit, but it was pointless. The snow had destroyed almost everything from a two thousand mile radius. He sat down in his usual spot with his legs outstretched and his arms folded over his chest. Slade stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"We should start moving on tomorrow morning. By the time we get to the refuge camp, my leg should be back to normal. We'll get food supplies there."

"We're not going that way anymore."

Slade's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

Robin looked up and glared at him. "This kid had to have come from there since he was standing in the direction we were heading," he said sternly. "I'm not taking him back there. If you don't like it, then you can go and he and I will go a different route. Whoever did this to him will take him back and I won't let that happen."

Slade snorted. "You're forgetting what we can do if that were to happen. If someone tried snatching him, we could always kill them."

Robin suddenly jumped to his feet. "I'm not killing anymore goddamn people."

"Then I'll do it."

"No."

Slade glared in anger at him. "Robin, when are you going to learn that this is what we have to do to survive this godforsaken war? There is no other way around it."

Robin growled. "I don't give a _damn_ about the fucking WAR!" Getting sick of his excessive whining, Slade forced himself on one leg and then tried to get to him. Robin looked livid. "Sit back down! You're going to fuck up your leg again if you don't!"

Robin was suddenly forced against the wall. Slade had a tight grip on his shoulders as he held him there. "You're going to have to start caring about this war if you want it to end! Sacrifices have to be made! If you can't handle that, then you may as well kill yourself right now! But I won't let you because I promised Bruce-!"

Snarling, Robin forced his hands against Slade's shoulders and shoved him back. With his grip still on him, they both fell to the hard ground. They rolled around as they attacked each other. Finally getting on top of him and using his right fist, Robin punched him in the cheek and nose several times in quick succession. When Slade's face came back up, he quickly punched him in the jaw, knocking his head sideways. Robin was panting from the fast punching. He soon got to his feet. Slade just lay on the ground, blood spilling from his nose and mouth. Robin glared down at him, his bloody fists curled at his sides.

"Don't you _ever _bring him up again. He's dead to me, in every fucking sense of the word."

Forcing his body around, Robin stormed out of the cave and back into the cold. After laying there for another minute, Slade slowly sat up, placing an arm under his nose. He wiped blood off his nostrils and upper lip with the back of his arm. Looking at the boy, he saw him staring silently at him. His face was completely void of emotion. Slade spit blood onto the ground.

"He'll be fine in a few days." Slade slowly got back to his foot and almost hopped back to his traveler's pack. He fell back down with a grunt. "He has every right to be upset."

The boy blinked at him before looking back at the dying fire. Slade stared at it too, getting lost in thought. Meanwhile, Robin was pacing and muttering nonsense to himself. A soft falling of snow fell around him. His anger was slowly disappearing and emotional exhaustion filled him. Suddenly falling onto the cold, wet, snow-covered ground, he buried his face in his knees, wrapped his arms tightly around them, and started sobbing and crying. Biting cold wind hit him from behind, freezing his back, but he didn't care. He needed something to help numb the pain. Robin suddenly cried out in anguish, tears streaming heavily down his face.

"Bruce, I'm so sorry!"

The wind quickly picked up and sounded like it was howling. More, heavier snow fell from the sky. It seemed that a blizzard was coming, which meant it would probably be a bad idea to stay in the cave. If snow covered the entrance, Robin and the boy would probably die. Then Slade would be all alone with two dead bodies rotting away.

Finally relaxing, Robin slowly lifted his head and sighed. He stood up, turned around, and returned to the cave. Slade was wrapping a fresh, clean blanket around his leg stump, tying the ends together tightly. His nose had been mended on its own already. Robin stared at him in silence for a few seconds.

"I think there's a blizzard coming," he said softly. "We should probably go." Nodding, Slade packed everything away and then tried to get up. Robin grabbed his stuff, slung his pack over his back, put some weapons back in his belt, and then destroyed the fire. Almost instantly the cave grew freezing cold. Taking his heavy blanket off the top of his backpack, Robin unfolded it a few times and then wrapped it around the boy. He looked at Robin as he tied the front against his chest. "We have to go to the next checkpoint. We can't stay here, just in case a blizzard closes the cave mouth with us still inside. I have to help Slade, so you're going to have to walk close by us. Okay?"

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he reached forward with his small hand and placed it to Robin's chest. He blinked down at him in confusion. The boy felt his heart beat for a few seconds. It was faint but strong. Slade stared at them for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

"We have to go now." Robin didn't take his eyes off the boy. After a few more seconds, the boy dropped his hand and started to stand. Robin stood up straight and ran his hand through his hair a few times before turning to Slade. Standing on his right, he helped him to his foot and then placed his arm across the back of his neck. They then started to leave the cave, Slade hopping on his solitary foot. They walked out into the freezing cold snow and headed east to the next camp. "…How far away is the refuge from the one you want to avoid?"

The boy was walking ahead of them since they were walking so slowly. Robin noticed he was going in the right direction. "We can just follow him."

"I'm not taking directions from a little boy," Slade said.

Robin quickly ducked out from under his arm and stepped back. Slade almost lost his balance. They both glared at each other.

"I'm getting a little sick and tired of you being an asshole, Slade."

"Well I'm sick and tired of your excessive whining."

"I wouldn't _be_ whining if you didn't make shit so fucking difficult!"

"I wouldn't have to make things so difficult if you would just change your attitude."

"Change _my_ attitude?! You should look in a fucking mirror and see whose attitude needs changing!"

Slade snorted. "I can't really do that since I don't have one. But we can sure pick one up in the next refuge when we stop to rest."

"We are not going to that stupid refuge!"

"Then it looks like I win," Slade said, as a matter of fact.

Robin was about to retort something back, but he stopped in confusion. "Wait, what?"

Slade smirked. "I was referring to the refuge _you_ wanted to go to. But since you said no, that means we're going to the one I said we would go to."

"I-! What-! You…! I didn't-!" Stopping his spluttering, Robin growled in anger at him. "You asshole!"

"You said it, not me."

"You _cheated_!"

"We're going to the closest refuge," Slade said, ignoring that last one. "And if the time arises where the boy is in danger, _we_ will stop the ones responsible, even if it means killing them. Now stop acting like a whiny child and get your neck under my arm so that we can keep going." Robin glared at him for a little while longer before turning and walking away. Slade turned half of his foot and then used his heel to turn around. "Robin, get back here!"

Ignoring him, Robin started to walk past the boy, who had stopped to watch their screaming match. Before he could get very far, his arm was caught, stopping him. Jerking his head around, Robin saw the boy looking at him with a blank stare. His small hand was wrapped around his slim wrist.

"_It's okay, Robin."_ Robin's eyes widened when he heard the child's voice in his head. Except, it sounded more mature than a ten year old's voice. _"__Please don't be afraid. I am simply channeling my thoughts to you. And no, Slade can't hear me because I will only talk to you."_

"Robin, stop staring at him like that and help me!"

"_We must hurry. The faster we get to our destination the better. Please." _Robin stared at the boy, completely dumbstruck. He felt a strange sensation cover his hand and then slowly travel over his body. The boy released his wrist and smiled a few seconds later. _"__There, now our bond is complete. I can now speak to you without skin-on-skin contact. I can help Slade with his leg trouble if you want me to. Otherwise, you will have to carry him on your shoulders the rest of the way. I don't want you to get tired though."_

Robin stared at him for a few seconds longer before slowly looking up at Slade. The man gave him a quizzical look when he stared at him strangely. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Robin placed his hand on the boy's head as he walked past him and then headed towards Slade. The boy followed him.

"What's wrong with you now?" Slade asked when they stopped in front of him.

Robin glanced at the kid for a moment. "This boy can speak to me through thoughts."

"_Tell him I will heal his leg."_

"He wants to heal your leg."

It was Slade's turn to give Robin a strange look. "You're kidding, right?"

Robin glared at him. "Does it look like I'm laughing?" Slade didn't reply. "Do you want him to help you or not?!"

Slade put his hands up in defense. "Okay, relax. I will humor you, for now." Slade stuck his stump out to the boy. "This better be real or I'm hitting you both for wasting precious daylight."

Robin stepped back, folding his arms over his chest. The boy stood to the side of the stump and then held his hands out. Both Slade and Robin's eyes widened when they began to glow blue. Slade soon felt the strangest sensation. What moved around like worms before seemed to be doing it again, just faster and more uncomfortable. It actually hurt, like the muscles and bones were twisting around. As something began to grow longer, the knot of the blanket began to loosen and then came apart. It fell away and they could see exactly what was happening. First, the bones grew, the hard, outer layer swirling around the marrow. Then the tendons and muscles appeared. They soon made a full leg. Next came the flesh and then the skin. When the sensation vanished and everything seemed back to normal, the boy's hands stopped glowing. He then lowered his arms before looking at Robin.

"_He is completely fixed now."_

"He says you're all fixed," Robin repeated. Slade started testing his leg out, to make sure it worked properly. When he didn't feel or see any problems, he lowered his foot to the ground and then took a step. Nothing wobbled and he didn't feel like falling, so he took a few more steps. Robin watched him walk around for a bit before looking at the boy. "What do we call you?"

The boy smiled. _"I go by many names, but you can call me Ishmael."_

Robin held his hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Ishmael." Ishmael shook his hand. "If only it had been during better circumstances." They lowered their hands. "Why were you tortured for anyway?"

Slade returned to them, looking back to his old, strong self again. His leg felt perfectly fine, like it hadn't been blown off at all. "We have to keep going. It's getting darker and colder. We'll freeze to death if we don't keep walking."

Robin looked at him, nodding. "This is Ishmael, by the way."

"I don't care," Slade said, heading in the direction they needed to go. Snorting, Robin followed behind him. Ishmael walked alongside him. "When we get to the refuge, we'll buy supplies and then leave, so we can avoid trouble."

"Finally a plan we can agree on." They walked on in silence for a while. Robin then looked at Ishmael. "We won't be able to stop at night for sleep. Can you handle that?"

Ishmael looked up at him. _"I do not need sleep."_

Robin looked ahead. "Good, because we'd freeze to death if we didn't keep moving."

"_I know."_

Slade glanced back at the two behind him. What were they conversing about anyway? And why hadn't Ishmael offered to give him the ability he gave Robin? Or, the better question was: who is Ishmael?


	4. A New World Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2. Also, Ishmael belongs to me

"So, I have to ask. If you're ten years old, how can you talk like a grown man?"

It had been two days since Slade, Robin, and Ishmael left the cave. They just barely missed the blizzard, one of the very few good things that had happened to them. No one had talked much since becoming a traveling trio, but Robin was curious about Ishmael.

"_Looks can be deceiving," _Ishmael replied wisely. _"__I simply __**choose **__to be in this form."_

Robin blinked a few times. "Are you a shapeshifter then?"

"_Yes, you could say that. I can only turn into other people though. I cannot turn into, let's say, a bird or fish, like your friend Beast Boy could do."_

Robin choked on his next breath. He started coughing violently. Being in the lead, Slade looked back with a furrowed brow.

"What are you coughing for?"

Robin forced out one last, hard cough before sniffing and clearing his throat. "Nothing." He looked back at Ishmael. "How do you know about Beast Boy? Or Changeling, as he preferred to be called once this war got so bad."

Slade glared at them, wishing he knew what they were yammering on about.

"_When I made the connection, I was able to see your memories," _Ishmael said, as a matter of fact. _"__I do apologize for bringing up a sensitive subject. But yes, I know all about your friends and your life. I am sorry for all of the hard times you've been through, and are continuing to go through."_

Robin gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. At least someone did." Looking ahead, Robin stared at the snow-covered ground. "I hated the world for so long because nobody really cared. Sadly, I'm starting to hate it again."

"_Yes, I know. But, I believe the war will be over soon. You can't just lose faith yet."_

Robin looked off to the side. "Forgive me if I don't agree…"

"You know, I greatly _dislike_ being left in the dark like this." Robin and Ishmael looked up and then had to stop. Slade had stopped after having enough with the secrecy and was glaring at them in annoyance, but mostly at Ishmael. "Why speak with telepathy, boy? Can't you talk?"

Ishmael stared blankly at him for a moment before looking up at Robin. _"__I do not speak because I do not trust myself since I am unstable on this planet."_

Robin's left eye twitched when they narrowed. "Unstable? What do you mean?"

"AGH!" Slade had thrown his hands and arms into the air and was turning away. They slapped his legs when they came back down. He continued walking. "Fine, just ignore me, you little bastard…"

Robin and Ishmael continued walking, continuing to talk despite Slade wanting to tear their heads off.

"_You have deduced by now that I am not a normal human being," _Ishmael finally answered. _"__I am, in fact, not an Earthling. I have certain powers, but many of them can cause harm or death. I can only perform my magic, if you will, through speech. So I have no choice but to speak telepathically. And I can only speak to those worthy of hearing me."_

Robin was pretty intrigued by this fact. The mystery of Ishmael was slowly unfolding. Robin looked up at Slade.

"Ishmael said if he speaks, he could cause harm or death to others. His abilities only work if he talks, so he has to speak telepathically." Slade heard, but pretended to ignore him anyway. "And he can only talk to those worthy of hearing him. So he can't talk to you because you're not worthy." Slade's temple twitched in angered annoyance. "Gee, I wonder why."

"Shut up."

Robin chuckled before looking back at Ishmael. "So, let me guess. You were beaten and hurt because you wouldn't talk to the ones that did the deed. Right?"

Ishmael gave a nod. _"__You are correct, world's greatest young detective," _he said in an amused tone. He became serious again. _"__Anyway, a rich man with many followers found out about me. I was healing a sick child in the street when one of the followers saw me. So, the rich man, who people call sir, sire, and King at this location, had me arrested. They wanted to use my powers to win the war and for themselves. Their evil deeds and wishes is what prevented me from connecting with them. Any and all dark hearts are not worthy of my time, or my powers. I will only use them for good, not evil or to rule the world. That is not why I am here."_

Robin was glad for that. He didn't want some evil, greedy person to rule the world and to control how the war went. They could oppress people with Ishmael's power if they could use it.

"So why are you here, Ishmael?"

"_I am here because I must help end the war. But I need someone special to accompany me."_

"Have you found them yet?"

Ishmael was silent for half a minute. _"__No," _he finally said. _"__But they are close. I can feel it."_

Robin had a feeling he wasn't telling the whole truth, but he didn't push the matter. When Ishmael was ready to reveal his true purpose on Earth, then he would find out.

"Where are you from?"

"_From a far off planet. I am the only one left from my home. My father, who was the supreme ruler, sent me just before the planet was destroyed."_

Robin's mouth fell open in shock. "I'm so sorry."

Ishmael smiled up at him. _"__You have nothing to apologize for. I was actually sent off a few years before your war even started. My brethren believed certain events happened for a reason. Perhaps I was sent to Earth back then because I was meant to be here. It wasn't until the deadly fights broke out that I felt this to be true."_

Robin's eyes narrowed in sadness from this information. He swallowed before speaking again. "Do you think…my parents died because of fate?"

Far up ahead, Slade stopped abruptly, having heard Robin despite how quiet he spoke. His eyes narrowed in anguish. Pain ruptured through his face, starting from his ruined eye, as he remembered his distant past. Closing his eyes, he continued walking.

"_We have a saying on my planet,"_ Ishmael continued. _"__Fate has a way of bringing two or more people together, for a reason it will not give. These things happen so that new people can come into our lives and change how life will be. You lost your parents but gained a new one. And even though he did not express his love and adoration for you like you wanted him to, doesn't mean your father didn't love you. He __**made **__you who you are today. It is those people, the family and friends you made, that made you who you are. And, despite the horrible things Slade has done, he helped you as well. The bonds you had with your friends got stronger because of that time. I don't expect you to agree or even appreciate it, but it's true. Because of my planet being destroyed, being sent to Earth, and living in this war, you and I have come together and connected. Your friends may have perished, but that bond you made with them is still there. Still keeping you strong. So do not give up yet. Fate may be cruel, but it's the results of that cruelty that has shaped us. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Together, we can help stop this war. And that, I believe, is why I am here, why I am with __**you**__, on our way to destiny!"_

Tears dripped off Robin's chin. He placed his hand to his heart and gripped the spot. He didn't want to believe it, but Ishmael was right. If it wasn't for the death of his parents, he never would have met his new family and friends years later. He would just be doing the same old routine in the circus if none of that ever happened. Robin just wished these events—losing Bruce, the Titans, and everyone he loved—hadn't happened. Or at least not to such an extreme. Why did it have to be destructive, heinous war that tore them apart?

After drying off his face, Robin shook his head to rid of the sad, painful thoughts. After a deep breath, he continued asking Ishmael questions. For several more hours this went on, both boys not paying any attention to Slade, who was far ahead of them. They were only two days away from the refugee.

"Should we risk going to the refugee that you came from?" Robin asked that night, when they decided to rest for an hour.

"_As Slade said, if we get in and out quickly, we should be safe."_

Robin relayed this to Slade.

"If we pay attention and can keep him hidden well enough, no one will find out we brought him back."

Robin sighed, but nodded anyway. "I hope it'll be that simple."

"Knowing our bad luck, I doubt it."


	5. A New World Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

Another day passed before Slade, Robin, and Ishmael came upon the haven. They were about fifty feet from the entrance. Robin was still very nervous about this plan. He didn't want Ishmael to go through horrendous pain again. Snorting at his hesitance, Slade stepped past him and continued walking.

"The faster we get in and find the market, the faster we can get out. So lets go."

Robin glared after him. Ishmael stayed with him for a few seconds before following Slade. Sighing heavily, Robin hiked his traveler's pack higher on his shoulders and followed them. In a couple of minutes they reached the refugee. They were on a main street with a few broken down buildings on each side. Some people were just standing or sitting around while a group walked and talked like this was normal. Robin stayed close behind Ishmael, trying to hide him from view from bystanders. He tried to act as natural as possible, like he was allowed to be there, but he was nervous. He kept glancing around to make sure no one was following too close or looking suspiciously at them. Having taken the lead, Slade glanced back at Robin over his shoulder. The teen scratched his neck while looking to the left.

"If you keep acting like you're trying to not get caught, you're going to get caught," Slade hissed at him. Robin looked at him and glared. "Don't give me that look; you know I'm right."

Robin whipped his head to the right, scowling and pouting slightly. As he kept walking between them, Ishmael reached back and touched the side of Robin's hand. The teen looked down at him and saw him smile. Robin took a deep breath and then sighed. He gave a few small nods of his head before looking straight ahead. Lowering his hand, Ishmael looked forward and moved an inch to the left. For the next few minutes they walked uptown, following the signs that led walkers to the marketplace. They soon moved in with the crowds. Checking to make sure no one was looking, Robin grabbed Ishmael's shoulders and pulled him to his left side while moving closer to Slade.

"What do we need?"

"Some rations and more ammunition would be good for now," Slade answered. "Perhaps some hunting knives too."

"Okay, then Ishmael and I will buy some food. Should we meet you at the knives after you get ammo?"

Nodding, Slade reached into his big pants pocket, pulled out some cash, and secretively handed it to Robin. He took it and pocketed it quickly before pulling Ishmael over to the right. They passed Slade, who fell back and pretended to examine herbs. Robin and Ishmael moved further up, eased past two or more groups of people too close together, and made their way for the food stalls.

"_You should hold my hand."_

Thinking that would lower suspicion, Robin reached over and grabbed Ishmael's hand, guiding him through the enclosed street. While they moved towards the fruit and vegetable stands, Slade made his way for the weapons section of the market. For the next several minutes they bought and traded for supplies. Robin and Ishmael bought air-tight packaged meat, a bag of four apples and pears, and traded some bullets and a gun for a few canned goods. Ishmael carried the bags of fruit with his free hand while Robin carried the brown paper bag full of meat and cans. Once they were out of the town, they would put everything in their packs.

Up above, where hardly anyone noticed, men with walkie-talkies and semi-automatic rifles were looking down at the people doing their business on rooftops. They would slowly walk across them, stop for a minute to several, and then continue. These men worked for the leader of the haven. If anyone was trying to steal from the stalls, they were to be shot on sight, so long as no one innocent was in the way. If there was a ruckus, two-to-four men would go down and break it up and find out what was going on. Depending on the severity of the fight, the ones causing harm or near death were to be imprisoned for a day or two.

One of the men closest to the food section was slowly looking back and forth at everyone. Suddenly, to the right, he saw something familiar. Taking a pair of binoculars from his hip, he shoulder his rifle and then looked through the eye pieces. He adjusted them until he could see clearly. Down in the market, Robin felt something cut into the back of his mind. His heart started beating fast. Swallowing hard, he carefully looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Ishmael was telepathically speaking to a little girl in pigtails close-by. Her face was covered in dirt and sweat, but she seemed happy. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw the man with the binoculars lift his walkie-talkie to his face.

"Hey, Ishmael," he said carefully, his back to the two children. "I think we should find Slade and get out of here…"

Ishmael gave the girl a tiny kiss to the cheek, like silly kids sometimes did, making her giggle. He then turned around and returned to Robin's side.

"_I can sense him near the blades." _Robin didn't answer. He stared up with slightly narrowed eyes at the soldier, who headed for another one. Ishmael touched his hand, making him jolt and look down at him. _"__And you are right. We should leave very soon."_

Nodding, Robin grabbed his hand and went back the way they came. It took a good few minutes to find the knife stalls. Slade was examining a very long and sharp blade of a large hunting machete, making sure it was in mint condition. The sheath was in his other hand as he tilted the blade forward and back in the light. Robin and Ishmael stopped a foot from him.

"Not to rush you or anything, but we need to go," Robin said desperately.

After a few more seconds, Slade returned the blade to its sheath, picked up a second one of the same model, and told the vendor he wanted both. He had to pay five dollars and a case of shotgun shells for them. Robin was looking around again, keeping Ishmael hidden. Nervousness was creeping back up in him, almost to the point of anxiety. There was no telling what the soldier with the walkie-talkie had been saying, or to whom. But Robin wasn't going to take any chances. He had found the soldier right after he felt like someone was watching them. It was just a really harsh and nerve-racking feeling.

Turning to face them, Slade tied both machetes to his waist. "Turn around so I can put the ammunition in your backpack."

"Okay." Moving Ishmael to his right, Robin turned around. He felt Slade open the large pouch and shove the boxes and bags inside. Ishmael held Robin's hand tight in reassurance. Robin glanced at Slade out of the corner of his eye. "We better hurry. I think someone spotted us."

"I'm taking a pistol out of your pack, just in case," Slade said quietly.

As the villain reached down into Robin's backpack, there was commotion up ahead. Jerking his head around, Robin vaguely saw people moving aside. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Ishmael turned to his side and loosely hugged his waist. As soon as Slade closed the backpack, the crowds had fully parted, revealing several tall men carrying rifles close together. They were spread out in a rounded diamond shape within the market. Everyone fell silent, some whispering to each other, wondering what was going on. Slade concealed the revolver by placing it in front of his stomach and covering it with his other hand. Robin grabbed Ishmael and pushed him around and behind him before the front of the militia parted. A man about Slade's height stepped forward a few feet, his arms hanging loosely by his sides with his hands curled into fists. He had cropped black hair, stunning yellow eyes, had strong arms, torso, and legs, wore camouflaged army pants, black army boots, a moss green t-shirt tucked behind a leather belt with a simple metal buckle, and carried a few handguns and knives around his waist. His face was hard set and he didn't look very nice. He eyed Robin, like he knew he was hiding something from him. Robin was glaring lightly at him, his hands curled into tight fists. The man soon smirked.

"I am sorry to disturb these lovely people, but I was informed that an escaped prisoner had returned to town. Being this haven's leader, I thought it my duty to come down and apprehend the prisoner, so no one got hurt." The man's voice was very strong, steady, and full of leadership. Robin saw why people called him their King. If the teen was gullible, he would've thought this man owned everyone that came into town. It made him all the more dangerous. Glancing past Robin for a moment, King saw most of one half of Ishmael in his over-sized t-shirt and pants, recognizing his face instantly. The boy's face was completely blank, not worried or nervous in the slightest. "I must thank you for bringing the prisoner back, boy. If you wish to avoid being arrested too, I suggest you let the child go." Slade, Robin, and Ishmael didn't move or say anything. The man's eyes narrowed slightly. "Aim."

From that simple command, the soldiers in the front row lifted their rifles and aimed them at the trio. Robin shoved Ishmael back, completely guarding him from their fire. Slade's eyes narrowed. He had hoped the man would make a move so that he could start shooting, but Robin would be killed all too quickly if he tried anything now. They were in boiling hot water. Robin growled weakly at King, his teeth clenched lightly.

"I won't let you hurt him again."

King faked confusion in his face. Or at least Robin thought so. He actually couldn't tell very well. Slade, on the other hand, could. "Hurt him? You misunderstand me. Our prisoners aren't physically punished unless they happened to kill someone. The boy behind you tried to steal vegetables from one of these hard working farmers' stalls. With how scarce money is these days, not paying doesn't help the farmer amass more seeds to plant and grow. So, naturally, the boy was arrested for the charge. Now, if you'll hand him over to me, you and your friend won't get shot. Understand?"

Robin's fists and forearms started to shake in anger. He continued to growl at the man and his followers. Behind him, Ishmael was contemplating what to do. If Robin didn't do as King said, then he would be killed, as well as Slade if he didn't also relinquish him. Within seconds he came to a decision that would benefit two of three people. With an exhale of his nose, Ishmael pulled himself out of Robin's grip. The teen jerked his head around and down as Ishmael began walking around him.

"Ishmael!" Robin hissed in a whisper.

The man looked down slightly as Ishmael stepped a foot from Robin and slightly to his right. He looked at the worried teen.

"_Robin, I will not let my comrades die for me. You and Slade must continue from this place to try and find a way to stop the war. I would rather be harmed than see you killed. So please, let me go, and hope that one day we see each other again. This is my decision and you can't stop me. I will be fine so long as you believe in me. Just as I strongly believe in your spark to save Earth and you."_

"Gurh." Robin couldn't believe it. Ishmael would rather risk his life than to let Robin lose his? How could he surrender rather than fight back so easily? Why did Ishmael believe in him when it all seemed hopeless? When Robin didn't say anything, Ishmael looked back at King and stepped towards him. The man smirked as he took another. He lifted his hand to signal to his soldiers that they could lower their weapons. They did, making Robin perk up. His eyes widened slightly as he thought of something. Stepping forward abruptly, he yelled, "WAIT!"

In shock, Ishmael stopped, almost tripping over the pant leg hem. He quickly looked to the left as Robin hastily stepped towards King. The man's eyes narrowed at him. Robin had a determined look on his face, his lips parted slightly as he breathed heavily. Behind them, Slade had to quickly hide the gun, even though no one paid attention to him. He glared at Robin, wondering what the hell he was thinking. If he got killed…

Robin glared at the man. "I know what you want with Ishmael. But it would be a waste of your time."

King was curious now. "What are you talking about, boy?"

Grabbing the right strap of his traveler's pack, Robin shrugged it off and then started to take it off his back. Holding the straps with one hand, he dropped the backpack beside him. He then lowered his arms to his sides.

"You want to use Ishmael's powers to create the turn of events for the war. That's what he told me after we met. But his powers only work for those worthy of using them."

Robin paused. King blinked, still confused. "And?"

Robin's hands curled into tight fists. "You want to use his powers for your own personal gain. That means you're unworthy of his powers. Thus, you can't use them. So there's really no point in imprisoning him and torturing him again."

At the mention of torture, the crowd of people began talking loudly to one another, wondering if what Robin said was true. King and his soldiers shifted their eyes back and forth to see some of their reactions. Some looked alarmed and disgusted, while others looked uncertain about the news.

Gritting his teeth and growling quietly, King looked back and bellowed, "SILENCE!" Almost instantaneously, the din quieted down and then stopped. When he was satisfied, the man looked back at Robin, glaring at him. "If what you say is true, then how can he communicate with you? You don't _look_ worthy."

Robin glanced back at Ishmael, to see his reaction. His face was blank again. Robin soon looked back at the man. "He only speaks telepathically. Before, he had to be touching me, but then he created a bond between us, so that I could speak to him and he could talk back. I'm only worthy because I was a hero from California and won't use his powers for evil." Robin paused, to see what King would say next. When he remained silent, Robin continued. "Ishmael was willing to give up his life for mine, so I'm going to return the favor."

"What?!" both Slade and Ishmael asked in surprise.

Robin ignored them. "I will take Ishmael's place. I was trained by two very strong and smart people growing up. I can use all sorts of firearms and blades, though I prefer not to. If you wanted to try to end this war and become supreme ruler or whatever, then I can help you accomplish that." The man blinked at the proposal. Robin stood up a little straighter. "I know for a fact you wouldn't just let us walk out of here without receiving something in return. Slade, the man behind me, won't do it, so there's only me. I am willing to lose my freedom to save my friend. I will become your obedient soldier if you just let Slade and Ishmael go. Please," Robin added when nothing happened.

Slade's hands curled into tight fists. How dare Robin make this decision by himself! He stepped forward in anger. "Robin, don't-!"

Robin ignored him as he continued to stare hard at King. He stared calmly back, feeling something stir in his chest. After a few more seconds of silence, he stepped closer to Robin and smirked.

"Fine. If this is what you want, then who am I to object to it? You have spunk, and I like that in a soldier." There was a pause. The man suddenly turned on his heel and stepped towards the flank of soldiers. "We are done here. Everyone, back to your business." Stopping, he looked back at Robin over his shoulder. "Boy, say good-bye to your friends and come with me."

As Robin began to turn to Ishmael, Slade moved closer and grabbed his wrist tight, growling. Robin looked up at him, glaring. "How dare you make such a rash decision without _my_ permission! I promised Bruce I would take care of you! I can't go breaking that now!"

Snorting in annoyance, Robin yanked his arm free and stepped back. "Pfft, promises. Promises are for gullible fools. Besides, knowing you, you wouldn't let this hack keep me forever." Slade's eyes widened, catching the hint. Robin stared determinedly at him. "I'll be fine. You and Ishmael rest for the night and then get out of here. Who knows, I may see you on the battlefield."

Slade acted like he didn't know what to say. With a very realistic fake sigh, he gave a nod. "I understand." Reaching down, Slade grabbed Robin's backpack, slung the strap over his left shoulder, and then turned around. "Let's go, Ishmael."

Slade headed for the start of town. Ishmael looked up at Robin, who looked down at him. He crouched to his eye level and blinked. "I'll be fine. Slade will take care of you. For now." Ishmael's eyes widened when Robin quickly winked at him with his left eye. He then stood up straight, ruffling up his hair. "Good-bye, my friend."

Turning to the left, Robin turned around and walked towards King. The man followed him with his gaze as he passed him. With an amused snort, he followed directly behind Robin, who ignored him and his roving gaze. Ishmael stared after them, hoping Robin's plan would go accordingly.

"_Be safe, Robin."_

Pretending to look upset and defeated, Ishmael slowly turned around and walked after Slade. With the unexpected surprise finally over, the people returned to what they had been doing, putting the event in the back of their minds. The soldiers on the rooftops continued their pacing and duty, relaxing their fast beating hearts and minds. Slade moved through everyone with ease. Ishmael soon caught up with him, still holding the bag of apples and pears. They exited the market and went to find dry shelter while they waited for sun-up.

* * *

><p>After walking for a good ten minutes, the soldier squad, Robin, and King were nearing a large, almost castle-like building with an actual moat and drawbridge. Now Robin understood why people called him King. If he still had a sense of humor, he would have found this funny. They walked over the drawbridge. When the soldiers were inside, a third went to the left, a third to the right, and the final third straight ahead. Robin and King brought up the rear. They headed for the front door of the mansion, where two soldiers stood on either side of the frame. King quickened his pace long enough to be in front of Robin. The guards stood up straight and at attention. King looked between them a few times before stopping with the one to his right.<p>

"At ease." The soldiers relaxed. The one on the right grasped the metal handle and pushed it down to open it. King gave a nod to them as he headed inside. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out heavily, Robin followed him inside. He didn't react to the door clicking shut, but his heartbeat quickened. To get his mind off his predicament, he looked around the massive foyer. The house was three stories. The staircase directly in front of him was made of marble and had silver rails and white posts. King was heading straight for them. "Boy, come with me."

Robin had been looking at the beautifully painted ceiling when he heard King's demanding tone. Not wanting to anger him, he jogged to catch up. They headed up to the second floor, which branched off to the right, left, and forward. There were a few doors here and there, including a few hallways. At the landing, King turned left, walked down the aisle, turned at the corner, and made his way for a hallway at the center of the one side. They entered the hall, walked down to the fifth door, and stopped. Taking out a key from his jean pocket, King inserted it in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. Robin looked inside and saw that the door led into a wide room with Victorian-like couches, nightstands with lamps on them, recliners, and, in one corner, a pool table. King made his way to the opposite side of the room, where there was another door, which was made of oak. Robin followed him inside. Reaching the door, King unlocked it and then opened it. He stepped into what appeared to be a bedroom. Swallowing, Robin walked past him when he waited by the door. He examined the room quickly.

Instead of the bed being in a corner or one side of the room, it was about in the center, and it was probably two king-sized beds put into one. In the right corner was another door, probably leading into a bathroom. There was also a large, open closet to the left and a mini library spread out along all four walls, filled with thousands of books. Still without a word, King moved to the edge of the bed and sat down on blood red sheets. Robin walked over to stand in front of him, but a few feet back. He watched King lift his right leg to bend and place on his left knee and start to untie his boots.

"So, boy, what's your name?"

Robin took a moment to answer. "I'm…Robin. So is your real name King, or is that just what people call you?"

King pulled the boot off and then dropped it. He lowered his leg and pulled his other foot up to take off that boot. "Not my first, but my last." He yanked the tie free, flinging the lace back. With both hands, he yanked the shoelace loose, grabbed the back of the heel, and yanked that boot off. He dropped it to the floor before looking up at Robin. "My first name is Thomas, but that's not very intimidating, is it?"

Robin blinked. "I guess not…"

King stared at him briefly before standing up, turning, and heading for his closet. "You look like you've been traveling a long way. Your hair is a mess. You should freshen up before dinner." Narrowing his eyes, but quirking an eyebrow, Robin walked after him. Reaching the door of the closet, he saw King pulling a large white towel from an oak dresser. He turned around, walked out, and then headed for the other door. "I will let you take a shower."

Unsure if this was a trick or King was actually nice just below the surface, Robin cautiously followed him. King set the towel down on the sink counter and then moved to a large shower with glass door. He opened it and stepped to one side. Robin entered the bathroom, looked around briefly, and then went to the shower. King pointed to the multiple shower heads and knobs.

"The hot valves are on the left while the cold are on the right. The shower heads automatically come on once one knob is turned. You can use one or multiple streams. They're all the same hard spray setting, so hopefully you can handle the hard pelting." Robin just nodded. King was silent for a second. Turning to face Robin, he walked around him and to the door. "Please do not exceed twenty minutes. I try not to use too much water since there's very little left in this godforsaken town."

Before Robin could say anything, King walked out and closed the door behind him. Robin stared at it for a moment before grabbing the towel, putting it on a hook on the outside of the shower, and then undressing. He quickly got in, just in case King had cameras, and inspected the knobs of one shower head. He turned the hot water on full blast with a bit of cold. The spray was indeed hard, but Robin preferred it that way. He enjoyed deep tissue shower massages. A bar of white soap and shampoo was in a metal rack below the spray. Welcoming the hot water, Robin stepped under the spray, let the water hit his chest, and then put his head under. He rubbed his face as water trickled to his cheeks and forehead and pushed them back into his gross, oily hair. He heavily soaked his hair before grabbing shampoo and pouring the cool liquid onto the back of his head.

For fifteen minutes Robin washed up, finally feeling relaxed and clean after so long. For the last five minutes, he kept his whole body under the spray. The water trailed and trickled down his back, neck, and sides. He soon lifted his gaze, letting the spray hit most of his face. It traveled heavily down his throat and chest and to his stomach. His eyes narrowed as he thought back to the last happy memory he had of the Titans before the war fully broke out. So much had happened since that time that it seemed almost unreal.

Lowering his head a few seconds later and sighing, Robin opened his eyes, reached for the knobs, and turned them both off at the same time. The shower died. Turning, he walked to the door, pushed it open, and then reached around for his towel. He pulled it inside, dried his hair and body with it, and then wrapped it around his waist. From now on, he couldn't let his guard down and had to stay alert, in case King tried anything dastardly. Robin could not handle one more vile human being in his life. Because one Slade was bad enough.


	6. A New World Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

The moment Robin stepped back into the bedroom was the moment he realized he didn't have any clean clothes. He didn't really want to put on the dirty set of clothes he had worn for weeks. Sighing, he was about to go back into the bathroom when something caught his eye. Cautiously, Robin walked to the bed and saw a folded set of clean clothes. How King had clothes Robin's size was a little strange. But, rather than complain, he sifted through the clothing and found white briefs. He slipped those on underneath the towel and then let it drop to the floor around his feet. He grabbed the dark blue jeans and slipped them on one legging at a time. After zipping them, Robin grabbed the black t-shirt and slipped it on over his wet head.

After putting on a silver studded belt around his waist, Robin picked the towel back up and vigorously dried his hair with it. He then returned to the bathroom and flung the towel over the shower door. With a yawn, Robin re-entered the bedroom and headed for the door. He tested the handle and was relieved to find it unlocked. Carefully opening the door, he peeked out and looked around to see if King was there. He wasn't. Sighing, Robin walked out and looked around.

King had nice collections going on in this room. There were ships in bottles, angel statues, old school baseball cards, cavalry, samurai, and cutlass swords and katanas, and movie posters plastered all over one wall. King must have been really rich to afford such expensive memorabilia. Going to the pool table, he saw the fifteen balls already in the rack. What he saw in the middle made him grimace. Reaching over, Robin pulled out the eight ball, which was shining gold instead of black. Robin shook his head as he put it back. As he turned around, his entire body jolted.

"God, you scared me."

King smirked. "No, you just aren't paying close enough attention." He turned around and headed for the door into the hall. "You would think with how dangerous this world is now, you would be more careful." Robin glared after him. "Well, let's go."

Rolling his eyes, Robin followed him out. They returned to the ground floor and walked behind the staircase. There was a large, double door in the middle, covered in paintings similar to the ones on the ceiling. There were two guards here as well. One opened the door, allowing entry. King gave a nod to them as he walked through. Robin scratched the right side of his neck as they both moved towards a long, cedarwood table. There were two chairs at the closest end. Reaching the table first, King pulled out the chair on the side. Robin stopped a few feet away. King looked at him with a smile.

"Sit." Robin was beginning to think this was a very peculiar man. But he sat down and allowed himself to be pushed in. King then sat in the end chair. "I hope you don't mind stir-fry with extra vegetables. That's the best we can do around here."

"Vegetables are fine," Robin answered.

Nodding, King looked towards the door that led into the kitchens and snapped his fingers. After a few seconds, the doors opened and a few servers came out with plates, clear glasses, and a water pitcher. It took Robin a lot of willpower to not roll his eyes or grimace. A plate filled with stir-fry and a small side of salad was set down in front of Robin first, then to King. Both glasses were placed behind the plates and filled with ice water. The servers stepped back and then waited.

"Tell the cook he can have the rest of the night off," King said. "You may go." With simultaneous bows, the servers returned to the kitchen. Smiling, King picked up his fork and stabbed some lettuce with light ranch. "Dig in! You seem famished!"

Robin watched King pull in his bite of salad incredulously and with both eyebrows raised. This day was just getting stranger and stranger…

For the next forty-five minutes the two acquaintances ate and drank silently. It was a bit nerve-racking for Robin to accompany a very rich and powerful man for dinner like this. The last time he ate with a rich and powerful man was Bruce at age fifteen, before he moved out from under his shadow and started the Teen Titans. But, he had to admit, the dinner tasted amazing, especially since it had been days since he last ate. Which reminded him: were Slade and Ishmael safe? Had they found a place to camp out for the night? Did they eat some of the food they bought before this whole fiasco? Robin hoped they were okay. Well, more so Ishmael than Slade. That bastard could take care of himself just fine for all Robin cared.

"Hey!" Robin suddenly jumped at the shout. Looking up, he saw King glaring lightly at him. "What is so important that you can't answer me? I asked you how the food was."

Robin blinked a few times at him. He suddenly coughed onto the top of a fist. "Sorry, I was thinking about my companions. But, yeah, the food was great. I was really hungry. I haven't eaten in days, after all."

King continued to glare at him, but this time in confusion. "How many days are we talking about?"

Robin scratched his left temple. "Four, give or take."

"What have you been doing those four days then?!"

Robin blinked at King's sudden outburst. He swallowed before answering. "There wasn't any game left where we traveled from. We also just barely missed a blizzard. We've been traveling on sheer willpower alone. Its not easy, I can tell you that."

They stared silently at each other for a little while. Soon, King's face softened and he stood up. "Yes, a major storm like blizzards could cause the wildlife to escape the area before it hits." Getting behind the chair, King pushed it in. "Let's go. I want to show you your training grounds before you go to bed."

"Yes sir."

King called in his servers to clean up the table as Robin finished his water after standing and then pushing the chair in. As the doors into the kitchen opened, Robin was following King back out to the foyer. Instead of going outside, they walked up the stairs to the final floor. The landing was the same as the second floor, but instead of multiple doors around the entire perimeter, there was only one, straight across from the stairs. Walking up to it, King reached in his pocket for the billiard room key. He inserted it in the single door's lock. Robin's eyes narrowed as King turned the key a few times.

"You lock _up_ your trainees?"

There was a faint click when the key finally finished turning. King quickly turned it back around to its original insertion position before pulling it out and pushing open the door. Robin was hesitant when King entered a vast room. Inhaling deep and then letting it out, Robin followed him inside. He heard the door click shut behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a guard standing beside the door. There was a second one as well, like the previous floors. King moved to the middle of the long room. Robin looked left and right, noticing the room never seemed to end. Perhaps the walls had been knocked down to allow for more room?

King turned on his heel to face Robin, who stopped suddenly to not get too close to the man. "Every day, starting at nine in the morning, my soldiers run ten laps around the perimeter of the house. After warm-ups, combat training lasts three hours. There are several professional trainers, so the faster runners don't need to wait for the slower runners to start. After combat, they practice shooting with semi-automatic rifles, machine guns, handguns, and bow and arrows for most of the rest of the day. After, they must run five more laps before dinner and sleep." King turned to the left and started walking. Robin followed, ignoring a jogger as he passed them. "As for weekends, no one is allowed to sleep except for an hour each night. My soldiers must run, practice, and exercise gradually to prevent passing out or, worst case scenario, dying. They get a three hour break for lunch and water and to use the bathroom."

As they walked, King and Robin passed soldiers using many manners of exercise equipment. King continued to explain how training worked while walking the full perimeter of the house. They were now nearing the firearm training area. A few men and women were firing rifles at paper human silhouette targets. A trainer was watching from the sidelines, a whistle hanging from his neck. When he caught a glimpse of King, he lifted the whistle to his lips and blew it. A shrill cry came from the spout. The soldiers ceased, allowing for King and Robin to continue walking without being accidentally shot. King moved to one of the three women and demanded to have her weapon.

"Yes sir!"

Coming forward, the woman handed her rifle over. King took it in his right hand, turned to Robin, and brandished it in front of him, the muzzle facing the high ceiling.

"Do me a favor and show me just how good you are with a gun." Robin stared at the dangerous and deadly weapon with disdain, his eyes solemn. Slowly, he reached for it with his right hand. King allowed him to take it. Grabbing it with both hands, Robin positioned it properly, placing his elbow over the handle to keep it steady. He turned to the targets and aimed. "Get our new recruit a target."

"Yes sir!" the trainer hollered.

While he did that, King turned to Robin. "While we wait, show me how to take it apart and put it back together again." While the paper was unrolled and attached to a clip on a self-made pulley system connected to the wall, Robin pulled the rifle apart with swift and relative ease. King was impressed when he took it apart and then back together again in less than three minutes. The target was ready when the teen positioned the rifle in his hands again. "Very good. Now, show me how good of a shot you are."

Exhaling, Robin lifted the rifle to face level, looked into the scope, and rested his finger on the trigger. After he had calmed his nerves, he pressed the trigger and held it down as several shots went off. Empty shell casings clattered around his feet as the bullets were released into the target. Within thirty seconds, the case was empty. The ringing in everyone's ears quickly died down. The trainees' eyes widened when they saw Robin's riddled-with-hundreds-of-holes target. They all resided in the face and chest area. Robin lowered the rifle like it was no big deal. King smirked.

"Well, you just exceeded my expectations. Very impressive." King took the rifle away and returned it to the woman. "Keep practicing for another hour and then all of you may take a break."

"Yes sir!" every soldier said simultaneously.

With a nod, King continued walking. "Come, Robin." The teen followed King through the rest of the continuous hall. They soon returned to the door. King gave a nod to the guards to open it. The one on the left pulled it open for them. King and Robin walked out, the door closing gently behind them. King began locking it back up again. "To answer your previous question…" King pulled the key from the lock, walked around Robin, and headed back for the staircase. Robin walked after him. "The doors remain locked so no one tries to escape. Once they join my army, there is no going back." They returned to the second floor and headed for the door into the hall that led to the billiard room. "Anyone that tries, is either imprisoned or killed." When they reached the door, King turned to Robin abruptly, making him stop in surprise. King gave him a cold stare. "Don't give me _any_ reason to _shoot_ you. Understand?"

Robin stared calmly back, but something flickered across his eyes. "Yes sir."

"Good." Turning back to the door, King unlocked it and entered. Releasing a breath, Robin walked inside, closing the door behind him. "After a good night's sleep, you will show me more of your technique."

"Yes sir." They returned to the man's bedroom. Going to his closet, King rummaged through his dresser drawers. Robin stopped close to the bed. "Where do the soldiers sleep?"

King came out of the closet with a new set of clothes. "There are sleeping quarters in the giant backyard. You will start sleeping there tomorrow night." King headed for the bathroom. "Get some sleep. You need to be up an hour earlier than the others to catch up on training."

Entering the bathroom, King closed the door and locked it, leaving Robin alone in the large bedroom. He stared at the door for a few more seconds before moving to the couch. With his hands, he tested the firmness of it. The cushioning was lumpy and hard as a rock. He glanced at the bed. Should he endure an uncomfortable surface for one night or risk sleeping in the large, soft bed that was King's? Robin growled.

"Damn…"

He may as well keep all of his clothes on for a fast getaway, if it ever came to that. Sighing, Robin went to the bed, pulled the covers and sheet back, and sat down to take his shoes off. He left his socks on and then crawled to the middle of the bed. There was no evidence that King had other, more sinister plans for him, but he wasn't going to take that chance. Lying flat out on his back, Robin stared up at the ceiling, thinking, and hoping, that Ishmael was okay…

* * *

><p>Robin's eyes snapped open. He almost fell heavily asleep. The bedroom was dark. What time was it? Clenching his eyes shut tight and groaning softly, he rolled onto his stomach and looked around for some sort of clock. He saw nothing of the sort. Sighing, he rolled back over, staring up at the high ceiling again. He knew he should sleep to regain his strength for his escape in the morning, but he wanted to keep a very close eye on his safety. It wasn't paranoia per se, more like he was being overly cautious. Robin knew nothing of King except for his overlord ego and that he was far from saintly. Torturing a young boy—or someone who looked very young—was proof of that.<p>

Robin's eyes began to droop again. He closed them and then turned his head to the side. Perhaps if King _was _planning something diabolical, he would've done so by now…

Something was suddenly beside him. Robin faked being asleep. After some seconds, he felt fingers run softly through his bangs while ghosting across his forehead. The only person it could be was King. Yeah, touching a person while they were "asleep" wasn't creepy at all, no! Robin didn't open his eyes. He was curious to know what King was thinking of and thinking of doing.

"What's a sweet looking boy like you fighting in this world torn war for anyhow, hmm…?" King kept running his hand through Robin's hair. It was actually making the teen sleepier. Maybe he was wrong about the overlord after all. After a few minutes, Robin rolled over in his pretend sleep, not liking the hand in his hair anymore. He expected King to leave now, but he didn't move. Robin felt him shift behind him. There was a pause, but then Robin jolted in surprise. He heard King chuckle as he had his hand resting gently on his hip. "I'm sorry, did I wake you? Or were you feigning sleep?" Robin didn't respond. "Either way, you must've heard me, right?" King leaned over Robin to speak in his ear, the breath sending a chill down his spine. "You're too soft to fight in a war like this. Maybe you should convince me to change your _position_."

Rather than roll his eyes, Robin rolled over and aimed a swift punch for King's face. Unfortunately, the man was faster, which surprised the teen. King grabbed his fist and wrenched his arm behind his back. Robin pulled and struggled to break free. When King tightened his grip, Robin stopped and glared at him over his shoulder. King smirked.

"That's precious."

"Let go of me," Robin snarled.

"Need I remind you that you are in _my _bed."

Robin growled. "I don't give a shit if it's the damn Pope's bed, let _GO_!"

King chuckled. "No." Crying out in frustration, Robin wrenched his arm up diagonally to break out of the man's grip and then tried to bolt sideways. King released him, but then quickly grabbed around his elbows with both hands. Robin managed to get halfway to his knees, but King yanked him backwards. The teen crashed into him and they were quickly rolled over. Straddling his waist, King pinned him onto his stomach and grabbed his wrists, pulling his clenched fists up to the sides of his head. Robin struggled violently to get the man off, but King overpowered him due to size and his very powerful, similar-to-Slade's, strength. "Struggling will only make it worse, kid. Lie still or I will chain you down."

Growling behind gritted teeth, Robin managed to lift his chest up only slightly to glare angrily at him. "Bastard!"

Smirking, King leaned in close to his face. "You're cute when you're angry." Robin's eyes widened in disgust when the man shoved his slick, wet tongue into his ear. His heart pounded hard in his chest. What was with all the adult men in his life nowadays? Was this some sort of curse? King pulled his tongue back into his mouth before kissing right below Robin's ear. He closed his eyes tight, growling. He stopped struggling and just endured this pervert and his sick game. When all was still, King sat up, gathered Robin's wrists in one hand above his head, and used his free hand to dig into his hair. He massaged his scalp and back of the head. "That's better."

Robin's teeth unclenched and he opened his eyes in a weak, solemn glare. Why did this have to keep happening to him? It was official: he was cursed. He was unsure if men had an attraction for him or if it was just because a man wanted to feel powerful to use him in these situations. Robin decided on the latter. Men believed they could just get away with it since he wasn't nearly as strong. Compared to King and Slade, Robin was scrawny and easy pickings for their sick pleasure. It was very painful to be used like this…

Robin buried his face in the pillow his head was on, trying to ignore the warm hand running over his back underneath his shirt. King then moved it towards his side and began pushing his shirt up. Robin flinched when he brushed his sensitive stomach to expose it. The other side of the shirt went up after a few seconds of being stuck. King shoved it up to the teen's head.

"Lift your head," he demanded.

Robin decided just to do what he said and lifted his head until his chin barely touched the bed. King slipped his shirt off and moved it along his arms. He released his wrists briefly to pull it completely off, before grabbing them again. He tossed the shirt to the floor and then worked on Robin's belt. The teen's eyes shifted back and forth a few times.

"…Could you ask me first?" he asked weakly.

Stopping suddenly, King looked up at the back of Robin's head. "Ask you what?"

It took Robin a few seconds to answer. He briefly saw a flash of a soldier unbuckling his belt, heard a gruff voice say to leave him alone, saw his face look hopeful, but then quickly change to fear before he was shoved onto his stomach. Tears formed in Robin's eyes and then fell down his face when the painful memory ended.

"Please let me consent." King's eyes widened. Robin closed his wet eyes tightly again. "I don't want to go through that again."

A heavy silence fell on them. King stared at the back of Robin's head, his eyes slightly narrowed. Eventually, his grip on his wrists lessened and he eased slightly off his waist.

"Can I have sex with you?" he asked softly.

Robin sniffed. "Y-Yes…"

King was still for a while. Sighing, he finished unbuckling Robin's belt and unzipped his jeans. "You're going to have to explain this to me in the morning, because I'm very confused."

Robin didn't say anything, he just allowed King to pull his jeans and boxers off his waist. Instead of pulling them off, he moved them down to Robin's knees. King then moved his hand to his own belt and unbuckled it. When Robin heard his zipper being pulled, he took a deep breath to try and calm himself. When the zipper was down, King pulled his jeans off his waist, starting on one side and alternating when one side got stuck. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out an already lubricated condom. He opened the package and slipped it on quickly before grabbing Robin's legs and spreading them. The teen gritted his teeth, to brace himself for when the blunt tip tried to enter him. King felt him shake lightly in between his legs. His eyes narrowed, almost in shame at what he was going to do, but he simply could not help it. He felt such a strong urge to do it for no reason. There was only one thing he could do to make it less painful.

"I'm sorry."

Tears quickly tracked down Robin's cheeks. He quickly nodded several times, signaling that he was ready. With a soft snort at himself, King grabbed the base of his penis, tilted it towards Robin's entrance, and then thrust carefully forward. Robin flinched violently as the head pierced him, as well as biting his tongue hard to prevent from screaming. When the first two inches entered him, he clenched his eyes tightly shut until he saw various shapes and colors within his mind and whimpered. After four inches were in, King released his penis, grabbed Robin's wrists gently with both hands, and thrust forward.

"GAH!"

Robin tried to hold back the cry, but it was useless. King swore under his breath, but kept thrusting in more. There was no backing out of this now. Robin would just have to endure another painful rape by another full grown man.

"Relax, stupid! Jesus!" King snapped. Robin would have elbowed him in the ribs if his arms weren't compromised. Soon, King's thrusting became steady, both in terms of speed and force. Robin was panting hot air while his body moved forward an inch. Sweat formed on his face and he was getting hot all over. King's pace quickened after a few seconds. He was grunting and growling behind gritted teeth. Once out of breath, he opened his mouth and panted. Robin gripped the bed sheets tight with his hands, his eyes closed tight as he panted and moaned. "Uhn, don't…d-do that…"

Out of instinct, Robin tugged on his arms, forgetting for a second that they were bound by the wrists. King was too far into pleasure to notice. His grip actually lessened, giving Robin enough room to slip his arms out and separate them. King's hand joined the other on Robin's hip and he yanked back on him.

"AH!"

King had lifted Robin's ass higher, which, in turn, made his back arch inward. King got his knees around the teen's legs to penetrate him even deeper. Robin's body was trembling because of the position he was in. As his back began to hurt, he placed his hands down and slowly pushed himself onto hands and knees. When his prostate was hit, he threw his head back and cried out. They both panted and moaned as pleasure filled them both. Tears threatened to spill down Robin's face again at the intense reaction he was getting from rape. He should've been fighting back, but couldn't. His mind was too numb.

"Aaaaah, K-King…"

King shuddered at the beautiful voice. Robin hated himself so much right now. A tear dripped down his cheek. King was amazed at how tight Robin was. It was just too delicious to pass up. After another minute, King leaned all the way over Robin's back, his teeth clenched tightly together. Robin was panting and moaning loudly.

Soon, King growled huskily into his ear, "I-I'm…c-coming…"

After a few more thrusts, King orgasmed deep inside of Robin, who cried out as thick semen filled him. His body had tightened upon the release. King held in his thrust until he was empty. He then sat up straight on his knees, his hands becoming lax on Robin's hips, which were slightly bruised from fingers digging into his flesh so hard. Robin dropped his head, panting. All of his traveling and sleeping on hard ground made his body hurt all over. He wanted to lay down, but King hadn't released his hips. The man regained his breath and slowly pulled out. Robin shuddered when he felt a trail of cum pull away and drip from his cheeks.

"Hold still."

Now what did King want to do to him? Hadn't he humiliated him enough for one night? Robin's eyes shot open and his butt muscles tightened. A harsh tremor traveled down his spine as he felt King's slick, wet tongue pressed to his ass crack. The man had to pull his cheeks apart with his thumbs to get to the red hole.

"S-Stop…"

Ignoring him, King began to clean him up by licking him savagely. Robin clenched his eyes shut tight, not liking the sensation. It was both slimy and bumpy and just plain disgusting. He just wanted to lay down, go back to sleep, and pretend the rape never happened. After a good minute, King licked up Robin's ass crack once more and then sat up straight on his knees again. He still had a hold of Robin's hips. The teen was shaking from the position he was in. Letting go of his right hip, King shoved Robin sideways, grabbed the base of his right leg from the outer side, and rolled him onto his back. Opening one eye a bit, Robin panted as he stared up at the overlord. King could faintly make out the dried tear tracks on his face. He was glaring down at him, not in anger, but in concentration. Robin wondered what he was thinking about or going to do next.

Blinking and then snorting, King started to turn his right hip behind him. He then started to fall quickly while moving up to Robin's side. He plopped down on his back beside the teen, scooted back with his feet, and then placed his arms behind his head, glaring up at the ceiling. The silence lasted just a little longer before King cut through it softly.

"Do you hate me, Robin?" Robin's eyes widened in surprise. King turned his head the opposite way, his eyes narrowing. "I wouldn't blame you. I must have made you relive a painful memory just now, since you felt the need to bring it up. I hope, after some sleep, you will tell me what happened to you. And you're welcome to hate me, but I hope you won't." There was a pregnant pause. Robin glanced at King out of the corner of his eye, his wide eyes back to normal. "I am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me, but I understand if you don't. All I ask is that you mull it over for a little while, before making a final decision. I will accept any answer you give me. Just remember that I am sorry and hope you will be okay." King finally closed his eyes. "I _need _you to be okay."

And that was the last thing King said that night. Brow furrowing as his eyes scrunched up, tears spilled from Robin's eyes again. He slowly closed them while rolling onto his side, his back to King. He kicked off his jeans and boxers, shoved them up to the foot of the bed, and then pulled his socks off. After he tossed them to the floor, he moved back after sitting up, grabbed the blanket and sheets, and got underneath them. Grabbing the extra pillow, Robin lifted it up and slammed it over his head in frustration as he began to cry. Within minutes, sleep consumed him, the nightmare just beginning.


	7. A New World Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

(I'm feeling generous, so here you go! Updates will return on Wednesday starting this week)

Robin awoke groggily to a shower running in the distance. Grumbling in annoyance, he rolled over and sat up. He looked around for a clock, but there was nothing. He hoped it wasn't too early, otherwise he would be waiting a long time before he was out of here. He didn't want to see King ever again.

A few minutes later and the shower ended. Robin kept running his hand through his hair to get rid of the bedhead and tangles. He didn't particularly want to look like Hell froze over to other people. And boy was there Hell last night. Suddenly feeling naked for some reason, Robin lifted the blanket up and then paled. He scrambled around under the bed covers for his clothes, but they were gone. Gritting his teeth, Robin growled. Now what was he going to do?!

The door to the bathroom opened a few seconds later. Looking up, Robin saw King walk out, running a towel through his wet hair. He had on clean clothes, much to Robin's rapture. Stopping a few feet from the foot of the bed, King dropped the towel around his shoulders while looking up at Robin.

"Good to see you awake. I decided to let you sleep in. How are you feeling?"

Robin snorted quietly. "Exhausted, angry, and disgusted. Oh, and naked! What did you do with my clothes?"

King wiggled his pinky into his right ear. "They were dirty, so I gave them to one of my servants." He lowered his hand. "A fresh set will be coming in a few minutes. Then you and I will go up to breakfast before you start training with the other soldiers."

Robin stared in discontent at him. "I'm not hungry."

King sat on the edge of the bed sideways. "Whatever." Robin glared off to the side. An unsettling silence filled the vast room. After a few more seconds, King glanced at Robin out of the corner of his eye. The teen was scratching the back of his neck, his eyes downcast. King then sighed. "About last night-"

Robin glared at him. "How about we _not _talk about that and say we did."

"I just want to understand why it hurts you so much."

Robin gritted his teeth as anger filled him. "Because I was raped, you dumb son of a bitch! You bastards don't seem to understand that concept!"

"I know what rape is," King said defensively.

"Then why did you do it?!" King didn't answer. Robin growled at his lack of response. "You're a coward for not telling me exactly why you took advantage of me. But I certainly do. You did it because you're in a position of _power_. And powerful men like you get away with it. It makes me _sick_." King remained silent. Robin snorted. "Am I getting new clothes now or not?"

King nodded before looking away and standing. "I will see what's taking so long." King returned to the bathroom to hang up his towel and gather his dirty clothes off the floor. He returned to the room and walked off to the side where there was a closet. He tossed the clothes into a basket, grabbed socks from the dresser, and got shoes on. Staring at the bed, Robin waited impatiently with his arms folded over his chest, scowling. "…I'm sorry." Robin's head jerked up. King stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at it with narrowed eyes. "I don't know why I forced myself on you. Maybe it _is_ because of my position as the leader of this haven, I don't know. But I'm sorry for it. And I hope that the last person that raped you is sorry too." King finally looked at Robin. "As I said last night, you don't have to accept my apology and you can hate me. I deserve it." He paused as he thought about what he would say next. "…Only cowards would not admit that what they did was wrong or apologize for it." Robin's hardened eyes slowly softened. King was silent a little while longer before turning away. "I will bring you those clothes."

Robin didn't look around to watch King leave the room. After a few seconds of waiting, Robin got out of bed, used the bathroom, and then returned to the bed before King returned. He covered himself up again when the man entered, carrying folded clothes. Coming up to Robin's left side, he set the clothes next to him. Robin looked down and saw that these were different compared to what he had worn the last two times. They were still the same size though. Robin wondered where King kept getting them.

"Thanks," Robin mumbled.

King sat at the foot of the bed again, waiting. Robin pulled skin-tight boxers on under the blanket and then stood up to pull on the black jeans and plain black t-shirt. The last item was Robin's utility belt, which he fitted around his waist.

"I figured you could hold your weapons in there. My tailors imitated the design in order to make utility belts for the other fighters. Very convenient. Don't know why I didn't think of it before." Robin just shrugged, not caring in the slightest. When King saw that he was ready, he stood up. "I will take you to the training grounds."

Robin didn't move. Kind walked around him and the bed, heading for the door. Robin stared at the floor in thought. Turning around, he stared blankly at the man.

"Where's your son, King?" King stopped, his eyes wide. He didn't turn around. Robin blinked. "Where is he, King? Does he know what you've been doing? Does his father know he uses his position of power to use people for his own personal gain?" King didn't do anything. "King…"

"He's dead." Robin's expression didn't change. King's hands were curled into light fists at his sides. "My son is dead. …He was killed."

"…Killed how?"

Closing his eyes, King inhaled deep. He then turned around, saddened. "Eight months ago, when the war started getting worse, an opposing militia came to take control of this city. It was an ambush, so we didn't expect it. That's when my father started gathering able men to help fight against them. In retaliation, the militia started bombing small businesses, with people still inside. My grandparents, wife, and son had gone shopping one day for supplies. We were stupid to believe this section of the city would be safe, because no one had threatened it." King's face hardened, tears threatening to form. "They dropped a bomb right on top of the super market, destroying everything and everyone inside. I had been in the army years ago, so I went to help fight the militia. My scouting party and I were a quarter mile away from the explosion, so we went in to help. We killed the opposing soldiers that had come to finish anyone off that may have survived. Once every last one was killed or too injured to fight anymore, we scouted the area for any survivors. One of the soldiers, who was also a good friend of mine, found my wife and child dead. He tried to keep me away, but I was much stronger than him. My son was still alive, but barely. He had lost both his legs, part of his arm, and had blood all over him. My wife was just bits and pieces around him. I held my son's body in my arms as he died a slow and painful death. That's when I promised him that I would rule this city, make it a haven, and destroy anyone that threatened us. Before he drew his last breath, my son told me to give those bastards Hell. And that's exactly what I did. They bombed us, a peaceful, neutral party to the war, so we did the same to them. Now no one threatens us. Because they _fear_ us. And fear and strength is what wins wars. I swore on my son's grave that I would be there when it finally ends. That's why these men and women do what they do. To protect those that they care about from monsters like that militia. All because of my son. My beautiful baby boy, who I will never hear laugh or see again. No one will show us mercy, so they will not see it either.

"I still stand by what I said yesterday," King added. "You are too innocent to fight this war. I don't want you to share the same fate my son did. So you can train and fight alongside me, or just become mine. That is your decision to make. But, once you choose, there's no going back. So pick a side. Mine, or the war's."

Robin and King stared silently at each other from across the room for a while. Before Robin could answer, the firing rounds of an AK-47 was muffled by the walls of the room. King spun around just as his door burst open and a male soldier with short red hair rushed in, panting.

"S-Sir! We have a problem!"

King growled behind gritted teeth. "What's going on?! Who's attacking?! How many are there?!"

The soldier swallowed nervously. "It's…crazy, sir. He just showed up and started shooting everyone that tried to deter him!"

King looked confused. "He? You mean, there's just one man?"

"That's what I said! He's really fast too! He's coming closer and closer to the mansion!"

"Dammit. Send everyone that you can and take this son of a bitch down," King ordered. "I will be down to help soon."

The soldier saluted. "Yes sir!"

The soldier ran off. Growling, King turned around and took a step, but had to stop abruptly. He stared down at Robin with wide eyes. How had he come up behind him without him noticing?

"If you don't want to lose anymore comrades, tell them to back down."

King blinked in confusion. "Why-?"

Reaching into his belt, Robin pulled out a black communicator, holding it out to show King. "Because Slade can't die."

Slade? Who the hell was that?

"How do you know that?" King inquired.

"Because he's with me." King's eyes widened when he remembered yesterday in the market. A burly, six feet tall man that was stronger than King had taken Ishmael away after Robin sacrificed himself in exchange to letting Ishmael go. Robin was staring hard at King. "I've seen a bomb destroy half of his leg and then heal before my own eyes. He is smarter, faster, and stronger than anyone and he won't stop until he has me back on his side. So if you want to avoid anymore casualties or the death of your own life, then you have to let me go. But…" Robin paused, thinking twice about what he would say next. "But I'm giving you another option."

Robin stopped, waiting. King was quiet for a moment.

"What do you want me to do?"

* * *

><p>Outside, hundreds of soldiers tried to defend their base of operations against a solitary man. As he walked by a fallen female soldier, Slade picked up the discarded AK-47 and stuck it into the backpack behind him. More soldiers rushed in, a minimum of twelve per party, firing their weapons. Another group rushed in as well, trying to shoot Slade down. Turning the fully automatic rifle around, he slammed the butt of it into a soldier's face, knocking him down and out. Simultaneously, Slade fired his rifle several times at the soldiers coming up behind him. He then spun around, tossing the rifle into an unsuspecting female soldier before kicking her in the stomach and then the chest. She flew back, throwing the rifle in the air. Slade grabbed it, turned around, and continued towards the mansion. Hundreds more soldiers came out, trying to barricade the entrance.<p>

Slade continued to shoot, kick, punch, and disarm the new set of surrounding soldiers, never giving a single one a chance to hurt him. When his rifle was empty, he used it as a bo staff, knocking people over. When a soldier with a hunting knife charged him, Slade ducked, ramming his body into the soldier's chest and flipping him over his back. The soldier landed on his neck, breaking and killing him. Slade ran forward a few feet before roundhouse kicking another charging female soldier. She crashed into a small group, knocking them all over. Slade casually stepped over their bodies as he continued forward. He was just about to take down three more soldiers when several shots rang out into the air above soldiers' heads.

"That's enough!"

Slade stopped his advance when King emerged from the group of brave people, carrying an army bag full of weapons, pistols and guns at his waist, and toting a semi-automatic rifle in his right hand. Stopping a few feet from Slade, King stuck the tip of the rifle into the ground next to him. Slade glared at him.

"Where is Robin? I've come to take him back."

"Robin is coming," King answered.

"Do you expect me to believe you?" Slade inquired.

"He's telling the truth." Slade looked past King to see Robin come out of the crowd, carrying his own backpack on his shoulders. Stepping out from behind King, Robin approached Slade, his face blank. He stopped to the right of him. "Took you fucking long enough."

Slade snorted at him. "Ishmael kept holding me back." Slade lowered his voice as he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Robin replied. "King has something to say before we go."

Robin turned around, folding his arms over his chest. King and him stared at each for a split second before King turned around slowly to see everyone as he spoke.

"I have a very important announcement to make. But before that, does anyone know where Coulson is?" Soldiers began to mutter to each other, wondering what was going on. King stopped turning. "Where is Coulson?!"

There was still no answer until—

"I'm right here sir."

Turning around, King saw a short black-haired man approach from the crowd, shouldering his AK-47. King stepped forward to meet him.

"It's good to see you after so long, my friend."

Coulson gave King a confused look, noticing a slight difference in his usual commanding tone of voice. "King, what's wrong?"

Shaking his head, King patted his shoulder before facing everyone else. "There is going to be a change of authority around here from now on." Everyone began talk amongst themselves again. King waited a few seconds before continuing. "First, let me congratulate on all of you for your hard work and sacrifice to this city. You stood up against countless enemies bravely and have done the greatest job in becoming good, smart, strong soldiers. I have full confidence in all of you that you will continue to do a great job while I'm gone."

"What?" Coulson asked exasperated.

Coulson wasn't the only one who was really confused. Even Slade gave him a strange look before looking at Robin.

"What is he talking about?"

Robin didn't answer. He kept on listening to King speak.

"That's right, you heard me loud and clear, ladies and gentlemen," King continued. "From today forward, I will no longer be in command of this city. Therefore I am passing on the torch to someone else. Someone who has been there for me since the very beginning. Someone who I consider my best friend and brother. All I ask is that you give him the same cooperation and servitude that you have served me for the last seven months. I expect you to continue working hard and being good soldiers. I still need you to help fight this war. Do I make myself clear?" No one answered, still too stunned to form words. "I said, do I make myself, _clear_?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

King waited for the rest of the stragglers to repeat the same message as their comrades. "Good. Now, your new commander in chief is one of the best soldiers I know. He has fought by my side for a long time. So, I want you to turn your attention now to…" Turning, King looked directly at Coulson's face. It was blank for a couple of seconds until a look of surprise appeared. "…Coulson."

Coulson jerked to attention. "Y-Yes?"

Smiling faintly, King placed his hand on Coulson's shoulder. "Coulson, you have been by my side every minute of every day for the first few months after the tragic destruction of my wife and son. You kept me going when I wanted to give up. That is why I, well…" King looked at the ground for a second before turning around again. "From this day forth, Alexander Coulson will be your leader! Show him the same respect you gave me! He is now in charge! If you have a problem with that, then you are welcome to leave! But he needs you, just as much as you need him! He is a good soldier, but above all else, he is a good man! He was there for all of us when our loved ones perished by the militia group eight months ago! For my last order as your leader, do exactly as he says and give him the respect he so greatly deserves! Perhaps one day, when this war is finally over, I will return and we can live happily ever after! Do you understand me?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

After looking at everyone again, King turned back to Coulson, who was completely dumbfounded at this turn of events. King smirked softly at the look on his face.

"I know this is a huge responsibility, but I believe in you. Just as you have always believed in me." Coulson's expression remained the same. Lowering his hand from his shoulder, King stepped back, placed his right hand fingers to the right side of his forehead and held it briefly. "Make me proud, sir."

Then King saluted and waited. Coulson was speechless for the longest time. After a hard swallow, he smiled, lifted his hand to his head, and saluted back.

"Thank you, Thomas King. You be careful out there. Don't you die on me."

King nodded. "We will meet again, sir, I promise." Coulson and King shook hands before King moved around him to reach Slade and Robin. Feeling a new self-confidence fill him, Coulson turned around and addressed his soldiers. King was looking at Slade as Coulson gave a quick speech. "I and a few of my lesser soldiers are coming with you."

Slade glared at him. "Excuse me?"

King glanced at Robin out of the corner of his eye, who was listening to Coulson speak strongly and confidently. "Robin gave me two options. Either I release him quietly and the two of you and Ishmael keep going to wherever it is you're going, or I go with you. I feel like I owe him my services, so I decided to go with you. Robin allowed me to bring three or four soldiers as backup as well. He said the decision would be final. Which means, you have no say in this. I am going with you, whether you like it or not. But don't worry, I won't try to be better than you because, let's face it, I'm far from it. So I am going. Am I understood?" Slade gritted his teeth in annoyance. How dare Robin make yet another decision without discussing it with him first? When Slade remained silent, King turned back around and looked at Coulson, who was finishing his speech. "Coulson, sir?"

Coulson turned and nodded. "Yes, King?"

"With your permission, sir, may I take up to four male soldiers for my journey?"

"Permission granted," Coulson answered. He turned to the crowd. "I need four male soldiers to go with King. King will decide who goes. So, if you're interested, step forward now."

While the soldiers, Coulson, and King discussed who was leaving, Robin finally looked fully at Slade. The villain was glaring at him.

"I know you're angry that I made this deal with King, but you weren't there, therefore there was no way I could discuss it with you first. But we could use his military background. He's already packed a load of weapons, ammunition, clothing, medical supplies, and food. I also told him he had to apologize to Ishmael for torturing him. The decision is final, so you can't argue against me, so don't even try."

Slade snorted. "Fine, but don't think I won't forget about this. Whether you like it or not, I'm still your leader and there will be punishment for going behind my back sometime soon. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Good." There was a pause. "Speaking of Ishmael, he's near the entrance of the property. He's waiting for us, so we need to leave now."

"Yes Slade."

After another few minutes, King had picked four burly male soldiers and given each one a backpack full of supplies to carry. Then the five of them said good-bye to Coulson and then met up with Slade and Robin.

"We're ready to go when you are," King told Slade. "My men will listen to you and me both."

"Fine," Slade said curtly. "But don't expect me to like it."

"I wouldn't think any less of you, _sir_."

Slade snorted while turning his back on them. He then started to walk away. "Let's go."

Robin followed Slade first, followed by King and the other four men. They left King's property and found Ishmael waiting patiently for their arrival. When he saw Robin, unharmed, he rushed up to him.

"_Robin, you are safe. Thank the stars."_

Robin smiled at him, patting his head. "Yes, I'm fine. There's someone here who has something to tell you."

Ishmael blinked, wondering who it could be. Robin stepped aside to reveal King. Ishmael gave him a small nod. King crouched in front of him, his arms resting on his knees.

"Hello, Ishmael. My name is Thomas King. I wanted to personally apologize for ordering my former soldiers to hurt you into helping my cause. It was very wrong of me and I am sorry. Desperate men tend to do stupid things, and I hope you can forgive me."

Ishmael was motionless for a moment before he touched King's hand. _"You are forgiven, Thomas."_

King smiled. "Thank you." He stood back up, looking at Slade. "On your command, sir."

Slade rolled his eyes before turning around and heading for the entrance to town. "We're wasting daylight. Let's go."

Robin rolled his eyes before following him. Ishmael grabbed his hand. King and the other four men followed from behind. Rather than walk through the market, the small, strange group made there way through back alleys and dark streets, to avoid as many people as possible. It took nearly ten minutes. Once outside the border, King stopped and looked back. His face was blank but he felt a pang of grief. For years he had lived in that city with his family, and now he was leaving it all behind. Although his destination was the same, it was still difficult to leave. But he had promised Robin to stay by his side until the war was over or he was killed in combat. King would continue to fight until the very end. And he _always_ kept his promises.

After a minute, King smiled warmly at his home. Turning back around, he continued to follow Slade and Robin, imagining all the possibilities of his new journey in the New World.


	8. A New World Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

A few days had passed since King and his four followers joined Slade and Robin's traveling expedition. The weather conditions were fair, but cold. They were able to rest each night with a fire. They were close to the next town by the eighth day, where they would stop to buy some more canned food. They expected to get in and out right away, but what they didn't count on was the disturbance in town.

"Give that back, thief!"

Something streaked past a fruit stand, leaving a split-second red hue behind. The store owner chased after a red-haired young adult, who was quick and agile and light on his feet. He had a loaf of bread tucked under his arm like a football.

"Can't catch me, old man!" the redhead shouted before laughing. Glancing back, he saw that the man couldn't catch up. He smirked in triumph. "Sucker-WHOA!"

The red-haired boy fell flat on his face, the roll of bread rolling away from his outstretched arm. Growling behind gritted teeth, he pushed up with his hands and then rolled over halfway to see who had tripped him. His forest green eyes widened when he saw who it was.

"Stealing from poor people isn't very nice," Robin said sternly, his eyes narrowed.

The redhead glared at him. He quickly scrambled to his feet. "I _am _poor, kid."

Robin was about to say something but Ishmael grabbed his hand. _"Robin, don't you recognize him?"_

Robin's face stayed the same for a few more seconds before his eyes widened. "Red X?!"

The redhead's eyes widened. "Hey, how do you know its me?!" Red's eyes widened even more when Slade stepped up behind Robin, his eyes narrowed. "Slade too?! What the hell-?!"

"You three know each other?"

King stepped up to the group, looking curious. Robin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, we go way back. This is Red X, by the way."

Red looked at all of them in confusion. "This is so weird. I thought you died, kid."

"Almost," Robin responded. "But Bruce made Slade promise to keep me alive and safe. I'm not happy about it, but what choice did we have?"

Stepping up to him, Ishmael grabbed Red's hand, making him jump and look down in surprise.

"What the-?"

"_Hello, Red X." _Red's eyes widened in surprise._ "My name is Ishmael. Do not be afraid. I am merely making a spiritual connection with you, so that we may communicate. Despite you being a thief, you have had a hard life and have good morals, therefore you are worthy of my powers." _Once the connection had been made, Ishmael stepped back and smiled. _"There. Now you can hear me without touching. If you are willing, I would like you to join us on our quest."_

"Quest? For what?"

"We're helping fight the war in any way we can," Robin answered for Ishmael. "Not sure how you are worthy of Ishmael's powers, but if he trusts you, then so do I." Stepping up to him, Robin held his hand out. "Would you like to join us?"

Red X stared down at the offered hand. He could see the calluses and Robin's hardened skin easily in the foggy sunlight. What sorts of horrors and events had Robin suffered through since Red saw him one final time before the war got worse? After a few seconds of hesitation, Red grabbed the hand firmly and shook it.

"I have nothing else to lose."

The handshake ended.

"Good, we could use your expertice," Slade said. He tossed a loaded backpack at Red's feet. "Everyone but Ishmael is required to carry supplies. Don't complain."

Shrugging, Red picked up the backpack, swinging it over his shoulders. His knees buckled slightly. "Jesus, what's in this? Rocks?"

"No, just a lot of weapons," King interjected. "There's some food supplies in there too." When everyone was silent, King turned to Robin. "We should pay for the bread."

"I was already planning on it," Robin said. "I will go."

Turning to the right and walking over to the loaf of bread, Robin picked it up, dusted it off with one hand, and then went back the way Red X came. Red adjusted the backpack straps to be more comfortable on his toned shoulders.

"Where have you been, anyway?" Slade asked, his arms folded over his chest.

Red looked up at him, dropping his hands. "Around. I've just been taking this war day by day alone for the last few months. I stopped wearing the Red X suit long ago. I kept the weapons. Unfortunately, I have very little Xenothium left and none exists anymore."

"Yes, we are in desperate times."

Red nodded in agreement, still slightly amazed that they had found each other. After another minute, Robin returned, the loaf of bread still in his hands. He handed it to Red X.

"The shop owner said he would accept Red's apology if we never come back. I told him that was fine. So we should go."

"Where we headed?" Red X asked, curiously.

Turning around, Robin headed for the end of town. "We stick with going east." Everyone began to follow him. "We just go where our gut takes us."

"So no set destination, huh? I'm fine with that."

"We have no other choice," Robin said grimly.

After a few minutes, they left the town and headed back into the forest. Everyone was silent for the next few hours. Red kept having to adjust his backpack on his shoulders. It was very uncomfortable, but he didn't complain. He was still trying to figure out why Robin was with Slade, of all people. It looked like they were just fine around each other, but it didn't feel that way. Red could feel an underlying anger resonate inside of Robin. What exactly had he had gone through since the Titans were destroyed?

"Question," Red said another hour later.

"What?"

"Do we fight anyone? Like, have you met any hostile soldiers during your travels? I mean, I'm a pretty decent fighter, but I haven't killed anyone before. I'm just wondering how careful we should be."

Slade glanced at him over his shoulder. "Before Robin and I met Ishmael, he and I were attacked by a small militia that wanted our equipment. We killed most of them before we had to escape due to a grave injury I acquired."

Red quickly looked him up and down but didn't see anything that looked like an injury. He glanced back up at Slade. "You look fine to me."

"Ishmael healed me. My leg had been blown up by a landmine."

Red's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, really? How'd you manage that?"

"If I tell you, I will have to kill you."

"He was being careless." Slade cast Robin a glare. He was in the lead with Ishmael beside him, holding his hand. He wasn't looking at anyone. "Now enough with the past. I'm sick and tired of hearing about it."

Being behind him, King patted Robin's shoulder in reassurance. "Let's talk about our next stop, then. It will be two weeks before we reach the next safe haven. With luck, we should have plenty of game to kill for food."

Robin shrugged. "It's someone else's turn to choose where we stop next. I picked the last place."

"_It would be wise to stop there," _Ishmael said. _"They have medical supplies there."_

Robin looked at the people that couldn't hear Ishmael's thoughts. "Ishmael says there's medical supplies at the next one. So he said to go there."

"I have some medical supplies in my belt," Red said, rooting around in the pockets. He began to pull out bandages, sterile wipes, and incisor scissors and tape. "There's not much, but it will be good enough for two patients."

"_If I could use my healing powers every time, I would, but even I have my limits."_

"Although Ishmael can heal, he is limited on their use," Robin relayed to them. "So we still need to get supplies."

"Sounds good to me," one of King's soldiers agreed.

Another two hours came and went. It started to get very dark outside, so they set up camp. Red plopped to the ground after dropping the backpack with a loud thud.

"Jesus, I hurt." Two of King's soldiers helped each other make a fire. Robin draped a blanket over Ishmael's shoulders, to help keep him warm. Once the fire was made and everyone had settled down for the night, they cooked some rabbit meat and had dinner. Red sighed in content, patting his stuffed belly. "I haven't had meat in months!"

"If you get gas or have to take a shit, don't do it around here," Slade said in annoyance. "And don't go alone. If you get captured, then you're on your own."

Red had his cheek in his hand as he leaned on it. He was looking at Slade with a sarcastic look on his face. "Boy are _you_ cheery."

"Stop it," Robin warned.

Red lifted his hands up in defense, his fingers spread. "Sorry."

Snorting, Robin rolled onto his side, resting his head on his traveler's pack. Ishmael laid against his stomach, to help keep him warm. King and his soldiers rested side-by-side, leaning against their own backpacks. Slade stoked the fire. Soon, everything was silent except for the crackling of the fire.

The next day, it was cloudy, but mostly warm. King's men were walking further away from the rest of the group, conversing with each other due to boredom. Slade was in the lead today, with Red X behind him. King stayed close to Robin and Ishmael, who brought up the rear. Not far from them, something mysterious was watching them from afar. Something thick and round moved up and down in the air a few times before the mysterious figure darted out of the safety of the trees, heading right for the traveling party.

Up ahead, Ishmael's ear twitched and he stopped, his eyes slowly widening. Realizing he had stopped, Robin stopped and looked back.

"Is everything alright, Ishmael?" Ishmael slowly looked up at Robin right as something streaked towards him. Seeing it, Robin's eyes widened and he opened his mouth. "Ishmael, run!"

Stopping up ahead, everyone turned and saw Ishmael dive out-of-the-way right as a strong-looking creature pounced. Robin barely had time to take a step back before the creature mauled him over. He crashed into the ground, the creature on top of him. Dripping fangs protruded from its mouth, growling down at Robin. Its breath was hot and tasted of dead flesh. Robin's eyes watered as it blasted him in the face. Behind them, Slade shoved past all the stunned followers, dropping his backpack to become lighter. The creature on top of Robin roared down at him, bright yellow eyes flashing. Before it could sink its fangs into his face, Slade roundhouse kicked it in the open mouth. Screeching, the creature flew through the air, crashing into the ground a few times. Rolling over, it slid back as it got on four clawed, scaly feet. Landing by Robin's head, Slade helped him sit up and they looked at the creature. It looked like a canine, except it had no fur, had scaly dark green skin, thick, sharp claws on all four feet, and a reptile-like tail whipping around with a spade on the end. It was nothing like Robin had ever seen. What even was it?

Snarling, the creature ran towards Slade and Robin, its mouth wide open. The two men quickly got to their feet and grabbed weapons from their utility belts. King and his soldiers rushed in to help. The creature attacked Robin again, clawing at him diagonally, starting from the top. Gripping his staff tight with both hands, Robin turned, slashing at the creature's head as it sailed past. His aim came true and the creature crashed to the ground. It bounced once and landed on its side. It quickly got back up and mauled over one of King's men. With a rapier, the soldier slashed at its neck, but wasn't fast enough. With a scream of terror, his face was ripped to pieces by the creature's fangs. Growling in anger, King jumped forward and slammed the butt of his rifle against its head hard. The creature dropped its head and then swiftly jumped away. Turning to face the rest, it howled in rage and rushed towards King since he was in front.

Another of King's men rushed to his side, lifted his rifle, and fired a shot. The creature easily dodged to the side, the bullet just barely missing its dark green cheek. Reaching into his belt when the creature knocked King and his soldier over, Red chucked sticky X's at the ground in front of it. The creature's massive feet landed in it and, as it kept running, tripped. Unfortunately, the sticky Xenothium snapped and the creature went rolling head over tail. Getting back to its feet, it jumped past Red's side, spinning him around and dropping him.

"Chiskot!" The ground in front of the creature suddenly blew up, forcing it to stop in surprise. Looking over his shoulder, Robin saw Ishmael standing with a glaring face at the creature. _"Leave us alone!"_

Growling, the creature darted to the side, surprising those in front of it. King and his soldier started firing at it after they turned around, but it swiftly dodged their bullets. Extending a blade from one end of his staff, Slade raised it above his head when the creature ran straight for him. He threw it down as it got closer, but it swiftly moved to his left, slamming the thickest part of its tail into his ribs. Slade was thrown right off his feet, crashing sideways into the ground and then rolling. He growled in slight pain, his staff a few feet from his hand. Ishmael continued to yell his "chiskot" command, making the ground explode. The creature easily escaped the dirt and grass. Pulling a bomb out of his butt pouch, Robin waited and then chucked it right at the creature's face. It exploded, making the creature howl in pain. The force of the blast knocked it back, crashing into the ground on its spine. It quickly got back on its feet, black blood spilling from the wounds on its face. It must have been made out of a very thick hide because the bomb only left some scratches.

Getting angry from being attacked so much, the creature tucked his head in and tightened its body. Robin's eyes widened when it got slightly bigger. Then, it vanished from sight. Robin looked around quickly, trying to find out where the creature went. Suddenly, from his right, the creature reappeared, throwing its front right leg around him. Robin fell over as the creature knocked him over by the crook of its leg and shoulder. As it grabbed him, Robin's legs snagged the ground. He almost fell out of the creature's grip, but it dug its claws into his back, drawing blood. Robin cried out in pain.

"Robin!"

Opening one eye a crack, Robin only caught a glimpse of Slade trying to chase after him before he vanished. Robin looked stunned. What had happened? Suddenly remembering about the reptile-like creature, Robin whipped a blade out of his belt and tried to stab it in the ribs. Its tail shot out, grabbed around his fingers, and tore the knife from his grip. It then threw it away, the knife lost forever. Robin then tried to punch it in the head, but the skin was too thick to cause any damage. What seemed odd was that the creature wasn't trying to eat him. It just carried Robin to wherever it was headed. Not wanting to find out where it was taking him, Robin tried to turn towards the creature's face. With a hard shove, he forced the creature off its feet, sending them rolling. There was a loud sounding crack when Robin was smashed into a thick tree. He gasped in pain. The creature snarled in annoyance. It began to stand, releasing Robin. The teen lay on the ground, too stunned and in pain from his spine to move. Turning, the creature growled lowly at his face.

"No fight."

Robin's eyes widened. This green beast could _talk_?! Before Robin could respond back, the creature hit him in the head, knocking him completely unconscious.


	9. A New World Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

The sound of mucky water dripped from overhead. Down below in a dark cavern, Robin was on his side with his arms partly stretched above his head, unconscious. When the dripping kept up its pace, it started echoing in his ears. His body suddenly stiffened for a moment before relaxing. Seconds later and his eyes slowly flitted open. As he came around, his head pulsed in pain. Clenching his eyes shut tight, he growled, placing a ginger hand to a small lump on his skull. Once he realized he was in darkness, Robin carefully looked around, trying to figure out where he was. What had happened before he was knocked out? He tried to remember, but the details were fuzzy. All Robin knew was that he wasn't with the others. He was completely alone.

Somewhere off to the right, Robin heard something, big and heavy, stomp and slither towards him. Rolling over quickly, he scrambled away, seeing a bulky figure coming towards him. When his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw a reptile-like creature with dark green, scaly skin, a thick tail with a spade on the end, sharp claws on massive feet, and the head of a lizard. Fangs poked out from its lips, like a crocodile's. It growled lowly at Robin when it saw that he was up. The last few hours suddenly came back to Robin as he recognized the creature.

"What are you? What do you want? Why did you take me away from my companions?"

Robin didn't know why he was even asking this monster this since he wasn't really expecting an answer. His eyes widened when the creature stopped a few feet away and spoke to him with a slithering voice.

"Monster. Need blood. Yours."

Robin swallowed, not liking the sound of that. "Why do you need my blood?"

The creature lowered its head, sniffing the ground. "Need saving."

Robin flinched when the creature began to circle him, sniffing him and the ground. "To save you from what?"

Robin jerked to the right when the creature touched his side with its cold, wet nose, which was just two slits. The creature then looked up at him. "From curse."

Robin frowned, his brow furrowing. "What curse?"

Robin startled when the creature shoved him over and landed on top of him suddenly, sniffing his face. The creature stared at him in silence for a moment.

"My curse. Monster curse."

"O-Oh…" Tensing up, Robin tried to move his face away from a pink forked tongue that came out of the creature's mouth. It licked his cheek, making him shudder. "What happens if you drink my blood?"

Forcing out a hard breath, the creature stepped backwards off Robin's chest. He carefully sat up to look at it. "Curse break? Not sure."

Well that was just lovely. Robin stared somberly at the creature with narrowed eyes. "Look, I'd like to help you, but I need my blood to stay alive. You would probably have to drink all of my blood to break your curse."

The creature sat down like a dog, its stomach pressing against the rock ground as it breathed. "Drink some every day. Stay alive. Break curse."

Robin exhaled hard from his nose. He had to get out of there and return to King, Ishmael, and the others. He couldn't stay with this cursed monster for too long. They had to keep going.

"You need to take me back to my companions. They have food. I need that to survive."

The creature shook its scaly head. "Me hunt. Feed you and me."

Finally getting agitated, Robin glared at it. "Take me back to my companions _now_!"

Suddenly getting back on its feet, the creature snarled at him, its eyes flashing. Robin fell back in fright. "No! Stay here! Break curse!"

Feeling brave, Robin quickly got to his feet and then whipped out a knife. The creature growled at him. "How about I kill you instead?"

"YOU NO THREATEN ME!" Robin screamed softly in surprise when the creature pounced on him, forcing the knife from his hand that had slackened. His back slammed into a smooth, protruding rock. Robin cried out in pain. The creature roared in his face. When Robin didn't try to fight back, the creature slowly relaxed, but it stayed alert. It growled low at him again. "Help me. Break curse. Need you. Need blood. Please."

Staring up at it, Robin looked straight into the creature's yellow eyes, watching them swim. After a few seconds, something seemed to change in them. Robin's eyes slowly widened before they flickered. He stared at the creature in surprise, wondering how this could be.

"Were you…" Robin swallowed. "Are you really a human?"

The creature looked angry for a moment longer before its face softened. Its eyes began to swim again. "Curse." Robin blinked. After staring at him a little while longer, the creature turned and stepped off of him. It started to walk away. "Hunt. Stay."

Robin watched the creature vanish into the darkness. When all he heard was the dripping water, he slowly sat up, feeling a pain in his back around his spine. He carefully placed a hand to it, feeling his vertebrae sticking out slightly from his skin. It ached to touch, so he dropped his hand. He then tried to stand, but his knees were weak. Using the rocks for support, Robin got to his feet and tried a step, but his back pulsed in pain. Well, so much for escaping this cavern now. Sighing, Robin carefully sat back down, resting against a smooth rock, being carefully not to put pressure on his wounds. He then looked around, trying to figure out what he was held up in.

It looked like a cave deep underground. Water dripped off a stalactite in the distance. There was a faint whiff of fresh air, so Robin was probably close to the cave mouth. It was very dark though, so he was probably too far away for anyone to hear him if he yelled for help. Sighing, Robin closed his eyes and rested, waiting for the cursed creature to return.

* * *

><p>"Robin!"<p>

It was nearing sundown. Several miles away, Slade, King, Red X, Ishmael, and the remaining three soldiers were in search of Robin and the creature. Ishmael had told Red X that he could faintly feel Robin's aura, which he had told everyone an hour ago. So far, they had no luck of finding a physical trace of him.

"Robin, if you can hear me, call back!" King shouted, his hands around his mouth. There was no response. "Robin!"

"This is no use," Red X said with a heavy sigh. "Birdbrain is long gone."

"We can't give up just yet," Slade said. "I promised Bruce to keep him safe. So I'm going to get him back."

Red gave him a quizzical look. "Bruce? As in, Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes."

Red chuckled. "You're joking, right? Why the hell would Bruce Wayne care about a-" Red stopped, putting two and two together. Lifting his arms, he shook his hands in disbelief. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shut the front door! Do you mean to tell me that _Robin _is _the _Richard Grayson?!"

Slade looked at him over his shoulder. "That's right."

Red's eyes widened. "So then that means Bruce Wayne is Batman!"

"Very good, X!" Slade mocked. "Would you like a cookie?"

Getting excited, Red jumped forward to stand right next to Slade. "Yeah!" Slade smacked him upside the head. "OW!"

"Idiot!"

Red skulked back, pouting as he rubbed his sore head. King reached him, placing a hand on the thief's shoulder.

"The next time we can, I will buy you a cookie."

Red grinned at him. "Haha, thanks. King, was it?" The group continued to travel through the forest, even after it was pitch black. Slade kept up the lead. Soon, he stopped, turned, and told everyone that they would stop searching for the night. They got set up, but didn't bother with a fire. "Do we think Robin's safe?"

"He had better," Slade grumbled. "If I find out that monster killed and ate him, I will kill it."

Miles away, Robin sneezed really hard. "Ugh, gross…" Robin's stomach growled and his mouth was dry. He needed something to drink and eat, fast. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a piece of cloth and blew his nose into it. He sniffed while folding it and putting it back away. Sighing, he closed his eyes again. "I hope that thing comes back soon…"

Robin didn't know how much time had passed before he heard a loud thud a few feet away. Opening bleary eyes, he looked over and saw the creature back. It had dropped a baby fawn in front of its massive feet. With its claws, it began to shred into its stomach. Robin watched it work for a while. When a good chunk of meat was off, the creature picked it up in its mouth and carried it over to Robin. The teen scrunched his nose at it because of the dead animal smell. The creature dropped it to his left and then looked up at him.

"Food. Eat."

"Um…" Turning around, the creature returned to its kill and began to lunge into its side. Robin slowly looked down at the raw, bloody meat. He swallowed. "I…can't eat this." Lifting its head and turning it in Robin's direction, blood, guts, and hair was hanging from the creature's mouth as it chewed. If Robin had food in his stomach, he would be throwing up. Thinking on this for a moment, the creature turned around and approached him. Robin tried to back away, but the creature took long strides and was at his side in a flash. Bits of body fluids dripped as the creature tried to give it to Robin. The teen jerked away so that he wouldn't get guts on him. "I can't eat raw food! Get it away from me!"

Growling low in its throat, the scaly creature turned away and walked off. It quickly pulled the hanging body parts into its mouth as it chewed and gnawed. Robin swallowed and then went "blech" as it grossed him out. When the creature swallowed a final time, it licked its mouth and then turned back to Robin.

"No eat?"

Robin sighed in irritation. "I already told you, I can't eat raw food. I have to cook it first. So I need to make a fire."

The creature instantly hissed and backed away. Robin sweat dropped. "No fire! Fire bad! Bad, bad, bad!"

Robin lifted his hands up in front of him. "Okay, okay! No fire! I'll just starve then!" The creature looked down at the ground in shame. Robin eyed it strangely. "If you were human once, wouldn't you know that raw meat could kill me?" The creature glanced at him out of the corner of its eye. It shook its head before looking away. "Well, it does. So I either starve or you let me make a fire to cook with. Up to you."

The creature was unmoving for a while. Turning away, it returned to the fawn and continued to eat. Sighing, Robin moved to a different spot away from the bloody meat and tried to go to sleep. The smacking and gnashing sounds from the creature made it hard to do so.

"…Sleep?"

Looking over, Robin saw the creature staring at him. "Yeah. Not sure if I can with this pain in my back though."

The creature tilted its head slightly. "Hurt you?"

Robin sighed. Lifting his hand, he held his pointer and thumb finger a few centimeters away from each other. "Just a little." He lowered his hand back down. "Some is from your claws and the rest are from hitting the tree and rocks on the way here. Luckily you didn't shatter my spine."

The creature stared at him for another second before looking away. "Sorry…"

Shaking his head, Robin said, "It's fine. It was an accident." The weird duo was quiet for a while. Robin laid back down and tried to go to sleep. "Good night."

The creature stared at him with its yellow eyes faintly glowing in the pitch darkness. "Sleep." Robin assumed that meant "good night" to the creature. He was half asleep when he heard the creature speak again. "Name?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw the creature laying down fifteen feet away, staring at him. "I'm Robin."

The creature's eyes lit up slightly. "Robin."

A small smile formed on Robin's face. "Yeah."

Looking away and then lowering its head to its front legs, the creature closed its eyes. "Sleep…"

Snorting softly behind his weak smile, Robin turned his head away and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Robin woke up sluggishly. Groaning and grumbling at the pain in his back, he sat up, but stopped abruptly. He slowly looked over to his left, his eyes widening.<p>

"AHHHHHH!" Robin fell over sideways in his panic. He ignored the pain in his back as he tried to get as far away from the strange creature laying next to him as he could. Lifting its scaly green head, the lizard-monster looked at him blankly. At the opposite wall, Robin was panting from fright and cowering back. It took him a moment to remember last night and to relax. He released a final breath and then sighed. "I didn't mean to scream. You just took me by surprise is all." The creature was still another second before it opened its mouth and yawned wide and loud. It then closed its mouth before standing up and shaking itself. "Why were you next to me anyway? You were over there last night."

The creature looked at him. "Cold. Keep warm."

Robin blinked in confusion. "You were cold or I was?"

"You. Shiver last night. Keep warm."

"Oh. Well, thank you, I guess," Robin said sheepishly. There was a pause as the creature started to roll around on the rocks, scratching itself. "So…do you still need my blood to break your curse?"

Rolling back on its massive feet, the creature nodded. "Yes."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Robin asked. "Should I just cut myself or…?"

Shaking its head, the creature walked over to him, staring at his face. "Bite. Suck blood. Drink."

Robin eyed the creature's dripping with saliva fangs, not liking that idea at all. "I think I should cut my arm and then you lick it. Your fangs might hurt me worse than a cut."

"No. Bite. Only way." Closing his eyes, Robin sighed. "…Be careful. No hurt again. Try."

Exhaling out of his nose, Robin grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off. The creature watched him silently. Wadding the shirt up and putting it in his belt, Robin held his left arm out to the creature and braced himself.

"Okay, just don't break it or anything." Turning his head away, Robin closed his eyes tight. The creature stared at him in shame before gently grabbing his forearm into its mouth. Robin shuddered as the slimy saliva covered him. He then flinched violently when the fangs pierced him. "HNNG! God! Fuck!"

The creature whined against his bleeding arm, but began to suck out his blood. Robin growled behind gritted teeth, trying to prevent himself from trying to yank his arm free, which would surely result in the fangs tearing into his flesh. But god did it really fucking hurt! For almost a minute, the creature sucked and licked up Robin's blood, swallowing every three seconds. Robin wished he knew how much blood he was losing in just that one minute.

"Y-You have to…s-stop!"

The creature swallowed one more time. Then, it slowly and carefully pulled its jaws apart and freed Robin's arm. The teen pulled it to his bare chest, placing his hand around the bite wounds. They stung, the pain traveling all the way to his shoulder and neck. The creature stepped away, licking its bloody mouth and swallowing again. It whined when Robin growled in pain.

"Sorry. Wish other way. Sorry. Very sorry." Robin glanced at the creature out of the corner of his strained eye, listening to it apologize over and over again. He then looked at the wound on his arm, noticing the holes that the fangs created. Saliva covered his skin, keeping his blood back inside his veins. Pain pulsed all the way through his arm, making him close his eyes tight again as he tried holding back a scream. "Blood. Sorry. Hurt you. Sorry. Sor-"

"Stop SAYING _THAT_!" The creature jumped away in fright at Robin's yell. It whined at him and apologized again. Panting, Robin leaned back against the wall, trying to ignore the pain. The cavern got quiet. After a few minutes, Robin had his arm on his lap, staring up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. The creature was walking around the cavern, rubbing its head on rocks every few minutes. Robin soon turned his head to look at it. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"Understand."

Robin sat up, still cradling his arm on his lap. "So, you need blood to break your curse. But does it _have_ to be mine?" The creature looked at him from across the cave. "It can't be animals' blood?"

"Witch curse. Specific blood. Will know. You."

Robin blinked a few times, trying to understand all of this. "So you know that only I can break the curse because…of how my blood tastes?"

The creature nodded, stopped, and then shook its head, changing its mind. "Scent. Yours. Then blood. Now know."

"And you're one hundred percent sure that it's my blood you need?"

"Yes. Now know."

Sighing, Robin leaned his head against the wall. "Wonderful. Not only do I have to deal with rapists, but now I'm a sacrifice for a monster to return to a human. Can my life get anymore pathetic?"

The monster blinked big, wet eyes. "Break curse. Not kill. Live."

Robin's stomach growled. He sighed. "I really need to eat…"

The creature tilted its head. "Need…fire?" Robin looked at it, nodding. Whimpering deeply, the creature slowly nodded. "Understand. Get fire."

Robin slowly smiled. "Thank you."

Turning around, the creature walked off into the darkness. Robin waited for it to be out of sight before pulling things out of his belt with his right hand. Luckily he had taken some bandages from Red X before this whole fiasco. He wrapped his arm securely. He also had matches, so he wouldn't have to try and use both hands to make friction with two sticks for a fire. Half an hour later and the monster returned, carrying logs in its large mouth. It dropped them by Robin's right side. After thanking it, Robin set up the logs in a teepee shape, tied them together with a bit of bandages, and then grabbed the box of matches. The creature eyed it warily, staying as far back as it could. Robin looked at it as he held the matchstick to the sandpaper.

"You should probably go outside. That way the sound won't startle you." The creature thought on that for a second before turning around and walking away. Letting out a breath, Robin looked at the logs and quickly raked the tip of the match across the grater. It flickered into a flame. Robin set it on top of the logs and then blew hard on it. Sparks hit the logs, but didn't light. So Robin tried blowing on it again and then added more bandages. They caught fire and spread to the logs. He blew on the embers and was finally able to get a fire going. Robin then looked to the entrance of the cave. "Hey! Can you bring me dried leaves?!" After a few seconds of waiting, Robin heard feet padding away. A few minutes passed before the creature returned, carrying leaves. "If you don't want to get too close, set them down over there and I'll get them!"

The creature came up, stopping about fifteen feet from the fire and Robin. It dropped the leaves. Smiling, Robin carefully got up and walked slowly towards the creature. It shrank back, staying alert. Robin grabbed the leaves and then carried them back to the fire. He dropped a few onto the flames before sitting back down. The creature was glaring lightly at the fire, but didn't say anything. Robin was actually enjoying the peace and quiet. Minutes passed before Robin looked at it again.

"Was there any deer left?" Blinking, the creature turned and walked over to a floor stalactite. Lowering its head, it picked up the fawn carcass and brought it closer. It then tossed it across the room. It landed with a thud and splat close by Robin. He grabbed the leg that was sticking in his direction and dragged the carcass over to him. He pulled another knife from his belt. The creature growled at him, but stayed where it was. Glancing at it, Robin chuckled. "Don't worry. I only threatened you last night because I was scared. I guess I should apologize for that. So, I'm sorry."

The creature just snorted out of its nose. Chuckling again, Robin looked back at the fawn and started cutting meat off the bones. The cave was silent except for the crackling of the fire again as Robin cooked the meat right on the flames. The wonderful scent of burning wood filled his nostrils, making him even hungrier.

"Fire bad."

Looking up, Robin snorted. "Only if its used the wrong way. I'm using it the right way. It will only hurt if you touch it."

"Fire bad!" Robin just shook his head. After half an hour, he was finally able to eat. He ate greedily, feeling completely famished. Soon, his energy returned. He then saved the rest for later. Leaning forward, Robin held his hands over the flames, getting them warm. The heat touched his wounded arm, making him hiss in pain. "Fire bad!" the creature said, almost gleefully.

Robin glared at it for a split second before laying back and closing his eyes. He fell back to sleep due to loss of energy because of his arm. When he woke up again, the fire was almost out and the logs were very black. Looking to his right, Robin saw the creature chewing on a bone.

"When should you drink my blood again?"

Stopping with one end of the bone sticking out of its mouth, the creature looked at him. It then swallowed the bone whole before getting up and moving close enough to the fire without feeling its heat too strongly.

"Night. Before sleep. Good for you."

"Good." They became silent again. "So…how long have you been cursed?"

"Long. Don't remember."

"So you've probably been here for a long time," Robin guessed. "Have you met other humans before me?"

The creature thought back. It soon nodded. "Scared. Ran away. No chase. Good monster."

Robin couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, you're a good monster. But let me call you something else. Do you have a name?" The creature shook its head. "Well, let's see. You look like a crocodile or an oversized lizard. Your body shape is kinda like a chimera. The spade on your tail is close enough to a snake, I suppose." Robin paused, thinking. "Yeah, let's go with that." He looked at the creature. "I will call you Chimera. Does that sound good?"

The creature didn't answer right away. It soon nodded. "Chimera."

Robin chuckled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Chimera. Once your curse breaks, you can tell me your human name, if you remember. After we explain to my companions what happened, you could join our party. Would you like that?" Chimera nodded enthusiastically. "Haha, good. Hopefully a few days of drinking my blood will break your curse so I'm not missing for too long."

"Yes. Break curse!"

Robin chuckled. Chimera looked like a large baby dinosaur as it wagged its tail. "Soon, Chimera, soon."

Calming down, Chimera laid back down. Around midnight that night—or that was Robin's guess—Chimera drank more of his blood from his left arm again. It was painful still, but Robin endured it. He then rebandaged his arm before falling asleep. The next day around noon, Robin was pacing from boredom. He had a good breakfast that morning. Chimera was gone. He had told Robin in his choppy speech that he would be back with more food. So Robin waited, holding his arm to his chest. The fang wounds had bruised and swollen, but there wasn't any sign of infection. At least Robin didn't have to worry about that.

"Yuck." Robin swallowed as hard as he could, his mouth completely dry and tasting gross. "I need water."

Deciding to search the cave for a spring water pool, Robin walked further in. He walked for a good twenty minutes. The cave went in really far. How far, Robin didn't know. Something suddenly occurred to him. Maybe there was two entrances to this cavern! Grinning, Robin walked a little faster, hoping his theory was correct. After another few minutes, he stopped to take a breather. His hurt arm was really slowing him down. He was panting and sweating. He hoped he wasn't getting a fever. That would make this all the worse.

Robin was about to give up and go back when something glinted up ahead. Eyes widening, Robin walked faster again. Was that sunlight? The light was slowly getting bigger and brighter. Yes, it was the sun! It just had to be!

"Oh sweet freedom!" Robin soon reached a dead end with a hole just big enough for him to crawl through. The light was shining through, making him even more hopeful. Crouching, Robin ducked under, placing his right hand on the edge above his head. As he stood up straight, he took a few more steps, but stopped, his mouth slowly falling partly open at what he was seeing. "Whoa…"

There were twinkling, pretty, different colored stones stuck in the cavern walls. Robin turned around in a three-sixty as he looked all around and above him. There was a goldmine of jewels here! Rushing to a wall, he took out his knife and carved a piece of colored rock out. He examined it carefully. Were these gems, jewels, and stones worth something? Were they even real gems at all? Robin tapped the stone with the tip of his knife, hearing it clink. It didn't crack or break, so that was a good sign. Amazed that he had even found this smorgasbord, he started taking pieces and chunks out of the wall with his knife and putting them in his belt and pockets.

Unaware to Robin, something was moving along the walls towards him. He was so excited at the thought of being rich again that he didn't notice anything until it was too late. Something large then pounced silently at his back.

Robin jumped several feet in the air when he heard a loud smashing sound behind him and to the left. Whipping around and dropping some stones in his surprise, he saw Chimera pinning a cougar to the ground. With a yowl, the cougar smashed its thick paw into Chimera's face. The lizard-monster fell sideways, snarling as blood was drawn. It regained its balance but was knocked over by the cougar. Robin rushed around them when they got too close.

"Be careful Chimera!"

The cougar snapped at Chimera's face. Chimera opened its mouth just in time to lock jaws with him. They growled and snarled at each other as they rolled around on the ground. Looking around, Robin found a good size rock that was partway falling off the wall. Rushing to it, he grabbed it with both hands and yanked it free. His left arm pulled, sending shearing pain through him. His muscles froze up and he almost dropped the rock on his toes. Getting a better grip, Robin turned around, shakily lifted the rock above his head, and aimed it at Chimera and the cougar. When the cougar shoved Chimera into a wall, Robin chucked the rock at the back of his head. It made contact, knocking the cougar over wildly. He howled in surprise, writhing on his back. Chimera got back up and jumped on him while he was down. Opening its mouth wide, Chimera chomped down on the cougar's right ribs.

"RAAAWR!"

The cougar actually had a look of surprise on his face as Chimera jerked its head violently around. Robin stayed pressed hard to the wall, holding his arm taut against his stomach. Blood was dripping from his fingers and down his stomach. He suddenly became violently ill when Chimera flung its head up, tearing the cougar's ribs right out of his body. With the horrendous violence and pain in his arm heavily on his mind, Robin collapsed into unconsciousness.


	10. A New World Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

"Ishmael, how strong is Robin's aura now?"

It was the next day. Ishmael was in front of Slade, with Red X and then King behind him.

"_It is getting much stronger."_

"We're getting closer," Red relayed.

"How much closer?" Slade asked, aggravated.

"_I don't know. Maybe another day or two."_

"One or two days."

Growling behind gritted teeth, Slade grabbed Ishmael's shoulder and threw him around. Ishmael glared at him.

"We don't have that much time! Don't you have any other useful power that can speed this crap up?!"

"Slade, maybe you should calm down," King tried, standing next to Red.

But King was too late. Slade flew back, crashing into the ground. He then slid backwards on his backpack, growling. Ishmael lowered his arm back down, the glow pulsing around it vanishing.

"_Do not raise your voice to me. I am trying my hardest but I am limited. For a man who knows limitless patience, you sure don't use it enough. We will find Robin when we find him!"_

Turning on his heel, Ishmael stormed away. Slade sat up, glaring after him. Red X relayed the message.

"Like I tried to say, calm down," King said, following Ishmael while looking at everyone over his shoulder. "Otherwise, you don't get to lead anymore."

"Get back here and say that to my face! I _dare _you!"

King ignored Slade. Smiling sheepishly, Red held his hand down. Slade glared at it. Red snorted.

"Oh stop being a damn baby. Give me your hand."

Slade was still for a moment. Snorting, he smacked the hand away and then stood up. Without a word, he followed Ishmael and King, seething. Red scowled before following.

Meanwhile, in the cavern, Robin began to stir. Opening bleary eyes, he blinked to adjust his sight and then turned his head to look around. He was back by the burnt out firewood, laying against something plush and soft. Looking down behind him, Robin saw what he was leaning on. What happened in the jewel cave came back to him. Gasping, he sat up abruptly, looking around.

"Chimera?!" There was no answer. Robin ignored the pain in his back and arm. "Chimera, where are you?! Are you alright?! …Chimera?! CHIMERA!"

Behind him, Robin heard something big rush in. Spinning around on his ass, he saw Chimera stop a few feet away, worry etched on its lizard face. Seeing Robin awake, it ran to him and then began licking his face to death.

"Friend! Safe!"

Falling over halfway, Robin laughed as Chimera's forked tongue tickled his cheek and face energetically. "Ahaha, yes! I'm fine! You can stop licking me!" Chimera licked him one more time before stepping back, smiling. Robin sat up, chuckling. "Thank you, Chimera. You saved me."

Chimera nodded enthusiastically. "Save! Friend!" Robin continued to chuckle, Chimera's words repeating in his head. After a few seconds, the laughter faltered and Robin dropped his head, his eyes closed. Chimera slowly stopped smiling when he heard Robin start to cry. It blinked several times. "Friend…?" With his right fist, Robin started punching the floor with the bottom of it. Chimera whined and whimpered. "Friend sad?"

Robin hiccuped before he tried to speak as he cried and sobbed. "N-No Chimera. I-I'm j-just… Y-You're my friend. Hearing that both h-hurts and makes me h-happy."

Chimera looked confused and sad. "Why hurt?"

Sniffing and then clearing his throat, Robin swallowed and looked up at Chimera. "There's a violent war against the humans r-right now. Humans are killing other humans to gain control of the world. My f-friends…they tried to fight, but they…th-they were destroyed." Chimera's shoulders drooped. Robin sniffed. "But it didn't end there. I tried to escape some human soldiers that hurt women, men, and children, but they cornered me. One was going to force himself on me, but someone else came and stopped them. I was saved, but…" Closing his eyes, Robin shook his head. He skipped the next part. "A few months later, when I was with my adopted father, he was killed. The man that saved me was there and my father made him promise to take care of me. Then I had to promise to keep living even though I wanted to die with my father. I had no choice but to stay with the man that saved me, even though he really hurt me. So all of this has just been building up inside of me and I finally couldn't take it anymore. You calling me your friend both kills me and strengthens me."

Chimera had listened the entire time, staring at Robin sympathetically. Growling low in affection in its throat, Chimera walked over to Robin and laid halfway on his lap, its snout pressed to his stomach. With a watery smile, Robin leaned over Chimera's head and hugged it.

"Good friend. Chimera good friend."

Fresh tears fell down Robin's face, but they were positive tears. He sniffed. "Yes, Chimera is a very good friend."

They snuggled like that for the remainder of the day.

* * *

><p>Two more days came and went. Each morning and before he slept, Chimera drank Robin's blood. To avoid infection to his left arm, his right arm had been bitten. Having run out of bandages last night, Robin had to wrap his arms with his shirt after tearing it in half that morning. Not only did they hurt, but they also itched. It took all of Robin's willpower not to scratch. Gradually, Chimera went through a series of changes. First, he had lost half of his scales, maybe more. Then, the thickness of his body began to thin. Then his claws and fangs were shrinking and looking more like human teeth. Lastly, he didn't speak in one word sentences. He was actually talking more like a person now. Robin was grateful because that meant they could talk normally for the most part.<p>

"Hey, Chimera? If the others find me before the curse is broken, would you go with us? That way, you can keep drinking my blood gradually."

Chimera scratched at his nose. "Chimera go with Robin."

Robin smiled while nodding. "Good. I can't leave my friend behind anyway. We have to stick together."

"Yes, Chimera know." They became silent for a while. Glancing at Robin out of the corner of his eye, Chimera stared at him. "Robin?"

Looking up, Robin asked, "Yeah?"

Chimera stood up. "Do you want to go outside?"

Robin looked thoughtfully at him. "I'd love to."

Turning around, Chimera started to walk away. "This way."

Nodding, Robin got up and followed him. They traveled through the cavern for several minutes before they saw a bright, warm light up ahead. The air here was getting stronger and better. Robin inhaled deeply, not realizing how much he missed the fresh air until after not having it for days. They soon exited the cave, which was in a small clearing. Chimera sat down a few feet from the cave mouth and looked around. Robin stepped up beside him and crouched, placing his hand on Chimera's shoulder.

"Thanks, Chimera. I needed this."

Turning his face towards him, Chimera licked his face. "You are welcome, my friend."

Robin was slowly getting used to hearing that term again. After they stared at the calm, breezy forest for a while, Robin stood up and stretched his arms above his head carefully. His elbows popped. Placing his hands against his lower back next, he leaned back, hearing his entire back and spine pop. It felt so good to loosen up those very tight muscles and tendons.

"That feels so much better."

Chimera had looked at him when he heard the multiple cracking. "Robin feel better?"

Turning, Robin smiled. "Yep. My arms still hurt, but those will heal in time."

"I am sorry."

Robin patted Chimera's rough head. What felt like coarse hair was starting to form. "Its okay. It was the only way. And now look at you? Talking like a normal human being and everything! You will become a man again very soon."

Chimera smiled. "Thank you, friend."

Smirking suddenly, Robin poked the front of Chimera's snout. "Tag!" Chimera stared at Robin in confusion as he started to run away. Thinking this was a good thing, he got up and bounded after him. "Good luck catching me!"

Oh, so that's what tag was. Growling in happiness and affection, Chimera ran faster. They stayed close to the cave, so that they wouldn't get lost. Running straight for the cave wall a few minutes later, Robin jumped at it, placed his foot against the mostly smooth rock, and then pushed off to the side. Chimera followed suit, landed all four feet on the wall, and then flew high into the air above Robin. The teen turned around and slid back. He outstretched his arms when Chimera got closer.

"Gotcha!" What happened next happened too sudden for Robin or Chimera to stop. There was the bang of a shotgun from the side, dark red blood splattering, and Chimera falling sideways, his mouth wide open. Robin's eyes widened in shock. "CHIMERAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Chimera crashed into the hard ground on his side, bounced back, and then crashed again. His body rolled a few times before he stopped on his stomach, a weak whine falling from his mouth. As fast as he could, Robin rushed to his side, falling to his knees. He held his arms above Chimera, looking all around him in shock. Opening his eye the best he could, Chimera whined.

"R-Rob…i-in…"

Lowering shaking hands to Chimera's ribs, Robin gently touched his softer hide, flinching back instantly when he felt torn flesh there. Tears formed in Robin's eyes when he realized someone had shot Chimera.

"Chimera, are…are you going to be okay?" Robin asked shakily, his voice faltering and becoming a high falsetto. "Sh-Should…you drink my blood? Will th-that help?"

Tears began to form in Chimera's eye. "N-No…"

Tears spilled from Robin's eyes at hearing that. "N-No. We have to…w-we have to try!" Pulling the shirt off his right arm, Robin thrust it at Chimera's face. "Please, let's try it! I could break the curse and save you!"

"Robin! What are you doing?! Get away from that thing!"

Chimera whined some more. Slowly, his body began to shrink and change. Robin watched in amazement as he slowly turned from lizard-monster to naked, middle-aged man with thin, black hair. His eyes changed from yellow to green like smoke. His scaly green skin started to turn pale and became soft. Once the transformation was done, the man smiled weakly up at Robin, who was crying silently.

"Th-Thank you for trying, m-my friend."

Closing his eyes, Robin shook his head hard. "No, we can't g-give up! You have to live!"

The man shook his head weakly. "It's…t-too late. The bullet…p-pierced my heart. I…c-can feel it…" Robin was shaking as he watched his new friend dying. The man managed to touch his knee. "I m-meant what I s-said. You _are_ my f-friend. I am just…s-sorry that it c-couldn't be for very l-long." Tears streamed out of the man's eyes and into his ears. "Promise me you w-will keep…going. H-Help…s-stop this w-war… P-Promise me!"

Lowering his head and closing his eyes tight, Robin sobbed. "I-I can't!"

"Y-Yes, you can." Robin looked back up at him, his vision blurred because of fatty tear drops. "Because I…b-believe in you…" Robin's breath hitched in his throat. His wet eyes were very wide. Why did people have to keep believing in him? "A-As my friend, you _h-have _to promise me you w-will live. P-Please…"

Robin shook his head hard. "Please don't leave me!"

The man smiled, his mouth quivering as he continued to cry. "I am s-sorry it had to be this…w-way. D-Don't give u-up. Promise m-me…"

Robin still shook his head, but he quickly started to nod. "I-I promise Chimera! I promise!"

Chimera smiled. "Th-Thank you, m-my…f-friend…"

Robin cried out in anguish at hearing those words. He never wanted to hear those broken words again. Slowly, Chimera's eyes closed and his head dropped to the side. His hand slid off Robin's knee and bounced once on the ground, the palm facing up. Placing his hands on the back of his head, Robin sobbed and cried, his entire body shaking. Far behind him, Slade stared at Robin. Red X, Ishmael, King, and his soldiers were behind them, watching the heartbreaking scene unfold. It took Robin a long time to go silent as he stared down at Chimera's dead body. After waiting a minute, Slade took a step closer.

"Robin, who was that? Was that the monster that attacked us?"

Robin sniffed. "…No."

"Really? Because it looked like the monster. I thought it was attacking you so I-" Slade stopped when he felt the air around Robin suddenly change. He blinked, carefully reaching for his shoulder. "Robin…?"

Before Slade could stop him, Robin spun around, growling at him with a very angry, almost monster-like glare. Slade flinched back in surprise.

"Get the fuck away from _me_!"

Robin didn't shout, but his voice had turned very cold. After a few seconds with his arm raised, Slade lowered it and stepped back. Robin kept glaring at him, anger and pain evident in his face. His tears had stopped and were dry on his face. Without another word, Robin turned to the left, jerking his face away from Slade, unable to look at his dumbstruck, scarred face. He then headed towards the others. Ishmael's eyes were narrowed in sympathy, but the rest of his face was blank. As Robin walked straight towards King, the man turned to let him pass and rested his hand on his shoulder, but the teen instantly slapped it away with the back of his wrist. King turned to face him, his eyes narrowed in sympathy and sadness. He knew very well what losing someone you cared about dearly meant. After a few seconds of watching Robin's retreating back, King turned sideways to glare at Slade, whose face looked blank again.

"Way to go." Turning on his heel, King grabbed the backpack by his leg that he was going to give Robin and then followed after him at a brisk walk. "Robin, wait up!"

After a few seconds, King's three soldiers turned around and followed after them. Ishmael soon followed, knowing that Robin needed his space. Now all that remained was Slade and Red X. Red was staring at Chimera, his face blank.

"We should probably go too."

Jerking his face away, Slade snorted. Shrugging, Red turned around and jogged after the others. After a few more seconds, Slade slowly turned part way and saw Chimera dead and covered in blood. Deep down, he knew that this man was the lizard-like monster that had attacked them five days ago and then took Robin away. But, in reality, Chimera was nothing more than a mere human being. Slade had simply been in the right place at the wrong time, just like before…

Gritting his teeth in anger, Slade turned and walked away, his traveling party far, far away.

* * *

><p>That night, away from everyone else and the warm fire, Robin leaned against a tree, his arms dangling on his propped knees. He stared at the ground a few feet away, his eyes half closed and his face tired and depressed. Everyone except for King and Ishmael kept making sure Robin was okay. After ten or so minutes, King silently stood up, opened his backpack, and pulled out a bottle of peroxide and white bandages. Without a word he walked to Robin's tree, came around to stand in front of him, and crouched. As he spoke, unheard by the others, Slade glanced at the two suspiciously. Red noticed where he was looking and looked too. They were silent for a while as King unraveled the bandage roll.<p>

"You know, I don't think Robin is capable of staying mad at people forever." Slade glanced at Red out of the corner of his eye. Red was staring at him. "I'm sure after everything has settled down, everything will be forgiven and we can continue on with our lives. Robin will come around eventually." Slade looked back at King and Robin after a few seconds of staring at Red, highly doubting it. After several minutes of talking, King touched the side of Robin's face and leaned in. Slade glared at them. Seeing the quick change in his expression, Red looked back and forth a few times, not disturbed that Robin was kissing another man. "I think somebody's jealous."

Slade whipped his head around to glare at him. "I do not experience such trivial emotions."

Red chuckled. "Uh-huh, sure." Slade lifted his arm threateningly, making Red duck away. "Yeah, I'm done." Snorting, Slade dropped his arm and leaned back against his backpack, staring at the fire. Another minute later and King returned, sitting down in his spot. Red looked up at him. "Will Robin be okay?"

"For the most part, yes," King answered, stoking the fire. "He told me what happened after the lizard-monster attacked us. The man that died had been cursed by a witch and the only way to break the curse was to have a special someone's blood be drank. Before Slade shot him, he wasn't trying to hurt Robin, but play with him. Robin had started a game of tag, so the monster, Chimera, chased him. I told Robin that Slade shooting Chimera was obviously a misunderstanding, but he didn't care. He said to stay away from him from now on," King finished, directing it at Slade.

The villain sighed. "Fine. If it makes him feel better."

King's face was blank for a little while longer before he glared. "Next time, don't jump to conclusions. Because of what you did, Robin feels more broken then ever. Not to mention he's still pissed at you for-"

"Yes, I get it," Slade said with an angry glare. "I will leave Robin alone. You don't have to rub my rash personality in my face anymore."

Laying down, King looked off to the side, his eyes closed. "Whatever."

Slade snorted but turned his head away and closed his eyes to rest. Red stared at them briefly before getting up and walking off to use the bathroom. He passed Robin on the way, but didn't disturb him. The teen was back to staring at the ground, his eyes drooping as exhaustion consumed him.


	11. A New World Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

Ever since Red X joined their party, a month came and went rather quickly. They had one or two scuffles against other groups of soldiers or villains along the way. Those that didn't get killed could either join them or die alone. Robin was no longer angry, but he wasn't happy either. At night he slept by himself and far away. He got along with everyone just fine, but he ignored them for the most part. He _always _ignored Slade, even when the man was being nice. King also ignored Slade a lot and would get rather annoyed with him over even the smallest things. It was stupid really. He was only doing it because Robin refused to speak to Slade first. Even though Red chatted with Slade a lot, Robin didn't have any qualms with him, so King didn't either. No, only Slade got the silent treatment.

"We've gotta be close to the next town, right?" Red asked on the thirty-ninth day. "I mean, it would be nice to give our legs and feet some air and relaxation soon, don't you think?"

Ishmael, who was behind Robin—he was leading the group today—looked back at Red. _"__The next town doesn't feel very safe, so I don't think we should take a week or two off there."_

"Aww man, really?" Red whined. "Lame." All but Red and Robin could telepathically hear Ishmael, so everyone else was confused on what was being said. Red easily sensed this. "Ishmael said the next town isn't very safe, so we shouldn't take a one or two week vacation there."

"We shouldn't even spend three days at a haven," Slade interjected. "We have to keep moving."

"Well its hard to keep moving when we don't have a set destination, is it?" Red asked, annoyed. "All we've been doing is going east!"

"Yes, because that is what my gut is telling me to do, is go east," Slade snapped. "Even Robin agreed long ago that we have to head that way."

"Well it's really fucking annoying!"

Stopping, Slade slammed his hand into Red's shoulder. Robin didn't acknowledge them; he kept walking.

"No one is forcing you to follow us, X. If you're really annoyed with our travel plans, then _leave_."

"And leave me all alone to starve and die?! Yeah right!"

"Then shut up!"

Several shots rang through the air. Everyone stopped in fear, looking around to try and find where the shots were coming from. Ahead of them, Robin lowered an AK-47 that was in his hand to the ground. He was glaring at all of them.

"No one is leaving anyone behind. Got it?" An unsettling silence filled the air around them. Turning on his heel, Slade moved away from Red X, who had his arms folded over his chest. "And if people want to complain, then fucking let them. No one likes our current predicament, so deal with it." When no one argued or said anything, Robin turned back around, stuck the firearm back into his backpack, and continued walking. "Now everyone shut up for a while. I'm sick of hearing it."

No one moved for a while. King was the first to start following. "Let's keep going." King caught up with Robin, who was staring at the ground as he walked. Red X went next, then Ishmael, then the seven soldiers they had accumulated since leaving King's domain, and, lastly, Slade. Walking alongside Robin, King glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Red X is right. We should stay in a haven for a few days soon. We're making good progress, sure, but the men are exhausted. We need to find a place to stay for a few days, at least."

Robin just nodded, agreeing completely. Even he was nearing his limit. For two hours no one said a word. All they heard was the sounds of nature. A few minutes later and a voice spoke to Robin telepathically.

"_I think there's trouble up ahead."_

Sighing, Robin stopped and turned around. "Ishmael just said there might be trouble up ahead." Everyone stopped. "We don't all have to go, so unless you want to cure your boredom, go up ahead. I for one am staying here with Ishmael. I'm not feeling too well."

Nodding, four of seven soldiers unshouldered firearms and scouted ahead. Red X and King stayed behind while Slade went with the soldiers. He was agitated and killing people always helped him feel better. Seeing a rock not too far from the path, Robin walked over and sat down. King decided to stay near the end of the clearing, in case any opposing soldiers came in. With enough room for two, Ishmael sat next to Robin, his kid legs dangling. He leaned back against Robin, resting.

"I'm sorry for being so negative," Red said, standing in front of Robin. "But this constant routine like this gets on my nerves; always has. I finally just got annoyed enough with the repetition that I had to burst by voicing my concerns. It's the only way for me to feel better."

Robin stared blankly at him. "Like I said, people can complain all they want. I just ignore you all anyway."

"Yeah, I noticed. You've gotten very good at it."

"I've had practice."

Red stared down at the ground. In the distance, they heard shots fired, but they ignored it. Red soon looked back up. "So…do you plan on holding a grudge against Slade forever?"

"…Yes."

"You do realize it was an accident, right?" Red continued. Robin didn't reply. "He thought you were getting mauled over by a deadly monster. I'm sure you would have done the same thing if you saw your friends being attacked. And don't say you wouldn't, because we all know that's a big fat lie. I just think you're being unfair to Slade, that's all."

Robin's eyes kept narrowing more and more until he was glaring hard at Red. "Why should I show Slade fairness when he hasn't shown me any in return?" Red didn't answer. "I will stop hating Slade once he says he's sorry. And not just for killing Chimera either."

Red's eyes narrowed in disappointment. "That happened a long time ago. He even helped you fight Trigon for God's sake."

"I am not talking about being Slade's goddamn apprentice, Red!"

Red put his hands up in defense, stepping back a few feet. "Okay, okay, sorry. I'll just shut up now."

Ishmael put a reassuring hand on Robin's own. _"__Please calm down. He doesn't understand."_

Red looked confused then. "I don't understand what?"

Robin was staring at the ground with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. A memory flashed in his mind. He slowly looked up at Red, his face never changing.

"Right after the Titans were destroyed, Slade raped me."

An unsettling silence filled the clearing. King glanced over his shoulder at Robin, looking guilty. Red's eyes were wide in shock.

"H-He…did _what_?!"

Robin sighed. "Please don't make me say it again."

Swallowing nervously, Red looked over his shoulder to stare at the place Slade left from. Anger flickered across his mind, but it quickly vanished. After a while, he sighed before looking back at Robin, who looked disheartened.

"I'm sorry."

Robin shook his head. "Don't strain your relationship with Slade because of what he did. I have a valid reason to despise him and its all on me. So don't bring it up to him or anyone else."

Red nodded. "I promise."

Robin gave a nod before looking back at the ground. A few minutes later and Slade returned to the clearing. All but two soldiers returned a minute after him, some injured, but looking fine for the most part. Robin stood up, pretending nothing happened.

"What happened?"

Slade and the soldiers stopped a few feet away. "There were at least thirty men and women and we killed half of them before the rest ran off. Two soldiers chased after them and they never returned. So they're either on their own or dead.

Robin sighed. "Okay, to avoid anyone else, we'll go northeast for a little while."

"Fine," Slade answered curtly.

So, much to Red's delight, the large group changed direction and headed northeast.

* * *

><p>Two weeks and three havens later, Slade, Robin, King, Red X, Ishmael, and the five soldiers finally decided to stop and take a break for a few days. The havens still weren't very friendly along the way, so they decided to just camp out in the open air instead. They bought sleeping bags and pillows in the previous town for their break only. Everyone was glad to give their feet and shoulders some reprieve.<p>

"It's a good thing camping is one of my favorite past times," Red said cheerfully, already in his sleeping bag for their first night there. "I feel better already."

One of the soldiers started a fire once they had settled down. They had bought good meat to commemorate their much needed vacation. Everyone was near the fire, to keep warm, except for one. Far enough away from the campfire to where he could barely hear anyone, Robin had set up his sleeping bag behind a tree. His backpack rested behind him so he could lean back. He was alone for a good half hour before King joined him. He smiled down at Robin, waiting for him to acknowledge him.

"Hey, King," Robin soon said softly and quietly.

"Would you like some company tonight?"

After staring at him for a few seconds, Robin nodded. "Sure…"

Back at camp, Red was playing tic-tac-toe with Ishmael in the dirt, making their lines and circles with sticks. Slade wasn't very far away, staring at the fire. He had ignored King walking away from camp but he was still wondering what he wanted, especially with Robin. A few minutes later and Slade looked up and over. His eyes narrowed at what he could faintly see.

'_Dammit…'_

With King resting against the tree, Robin was sitting on him with his legs spread on either side of him, their pants pushed down from their hips. They kissed passionately as Robin rubbed their penises together. Once he was losing his breath, he lowered his head and pressed it to King's cheek, panting.

"That's it. You're doing just fine," King whispered huskily in his ear. Robin moaned slightly a few seconds later. "T-Try to stay quiet. Wouldn't…W-Wouldn't want them to h-hear…"

Robin swallowed before panting again. King's hands slowly snaked around to his lower back, touching him softly. With his right hand, he moved it to Robin's ass cheek and moved his finger to the crack of his ass. Robin closed his mouth to muffle a very loud moan when King quickly pierced into him.

"O-Oh King…"

Back at camp, Slade couldn't tear his eyes away from King and Robin's spot. He could barely see them due to the dark, but he knew what they were doing. He suddenly came out of his concentration when he heard someone whisper in his ear.

"You're drooling."

Flinching violently, Slade looked over and saw Red X smirking at him. Slade snorted. "I am not."

Red chuckled before sitting next to him, looking to where Slade was looking. Robin was lowering his spread and prepared ass on top of King's erection.

"I still say you're jealous," Red said, as a matter of fact.

"No, I am pissed," Slade hissed.

Red looked at him. "Why, because Robin would rather have hanky-panky with a guy not up to par with you? Maybe that's just what he's sexually attracted to: mediocre humpers." Slade snorted, managing to tear his eyes away. "But I think you're just jealous because Robin would never have sex with you. It's a shame really. If you asked nicely, I would want you."

Slade glared at Red. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Red glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "You figure it out."

Getting back up, Red returned to his sleep spot and got under the covers. Behind the tree, King was on his back with Robin riding him. His big, warm hands held his soft hips, helping him. They were both panting and moaning in ecstasy.

"Y-You're dripping…"

Pre-cum was dripping from the top of Robin's spread foreskin and traveling down to his balls and King's stomach. He had removed his shirt beforehand. Robin kept his hands on his chest, feeling the strong muscles against his skin. After a few seconds, King grabbed his bouncing cock and started stimulating it. Robin moaned a little louder as the tip was pressed by King's thumb. He bounced on top of him a little faster now, feeling the thick, veiny penis grow bigger inside of him.

"K-King, I…y-you make me feel so g-good…"

Grabbing the back of his neck with his free hand and lifting himself up slightly, King pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss. Robin moaned against his warm, wet lips. Cum was squirting out of the tip of his penis as he was ready to let it all go. Unable to help it, tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Not just because of losing his breath from the kiss, but because of how King made him feel like this. He technically shouldn't be enjoying this, but it just felt so different compared to over a month ago. He just didn't understand why he was okay with this.

After a few more jerks of his hand, Robin came, his scream muffled by King's mouth. Needing oxygen, he threw his head back, gulping in air. King kept stroking him until he was empty and then laid back down again, gripping Robin's hips a little firmer. Back at camp, the soldiers tried to ignore what their previous leader was doing to Robin. Red was trying to hold back a burst of laughter, especially when he saw the mortified look on Slade's face. Ishmael was able to drown everyone out, but he knew what Robin and King were doing. No one but Slade actually seemed to care. Maybe the soldiers wished they were having sex right now too. Robin stopped trying to be quiet long ago. If everyone heard them, then so be it. Even King was having trouble keeping a calm composure.

"Th-They can so h-hear us right n-now…" King airily said with a laugh.

Leaning over him, Robin smashed their lips together to shut him up. King kissed just as hard back, not wanting this to end. Robin's inner walls just felt so amazing around his cock.

After a few more drops on King's crotch, the man came. Tightening his body, he thrust his hips up, forcing his penis all the way inside of Robin. Cum pressed right against Robin's prostate as it filled him.

"AH KING!"

Red finally burst out laughing, rolling around on the ground. Growling, Slade forced himself to his feet and stormed away. The soldiers snickered at his intense reaction. Ishmael shook his head in disapproval at them. Back at the tree, Robin was panting to regain his breath as he laid on top of King. The man had removed his penis from his ass and was currently laying limp below Robin. Neither spoke, even after they regained their breaths.

"…You were amazing, you know that?"

Lifting his head and placing his chin on King's chest, Robin stared at his face blankly. "So were you."

Smiling, King pushed hair back behind Robin's ear before rubbing his temple with his thumb. "Do you think any of them are against what we did?"

"Yeah."

King frowned. "Who? Its just sex."

Robin snorted. "Who do you think?"

It took King a moment to get it. "Oh, right. Well fuck him. He doesn't matter."

Robin actually smiled at the encouragement. "No, he doesn't." Lifting himself up a few inches, Robin kissed King on the lips before laying back down and closing his eyes. "Good night, King."

Wrapping his arms around him, King said, "Good night to you too."

Snuggling up close to him and feeling warm and better than he had in weeks, Robin drifted off to sleep, content. The next morning, everyone pretended nothing happened last night and just enjoyed the rest of their vacation.


	12. A New World Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

Three months. Three very long, difficult months was finally over. The fighting had increased all over the world during that time. So far, the war had been raging on for a year and five months. It just kept getting worse and worse every day. There was no telling if it would ever stop.

Robin and Co had been traveling a long time by foot, but they were finally in luck. Up ahead of them, abandoned, were two military vehicles. Red X rushed ahead, feeling relieved to see them. When he reached one, he hugged it tight.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, motors!"

With his eyes closed, Ishmael searched the nearby area telepathically, looking for signs of people that may have left the trucks behind. When all he sensed was his party, he opened his eyes and looked at Robin.

"_We can take these. There's no one around."_

Robin looked at everyone. "These trucks are abandoned according to Ishmael. So Finders Keepers."

Everyone loved the sound of that. The keys were still inside too, so they didn't have to hot wire them. They divvied up and decided who would be in the back and who would be in the front seats. In the end, King drove one vehicle while Red X drove the other. With King, not too happy with the arrangement, were Slade and Robin with a few soldiers in the back. With Red X, Ishmael, a female soldier they had picked up a month ago, and the rest of the soldiers went in the other one. They made sure everyone was ready before King took the lead. The backpacks and supplies stayed in the back of the trucks, as well as gallons of gas, so if they ran out, they could refuel. The forest road was bumpy, but it was better than walking and killing their feet.

Sitting in the middle seat next to King, Slade was slouched, holding his rifle in his arms in front of him. Robin was as close to the door as he could get without touching Slade. He had the window rolled down, letting the cold air as it whipped past to tousle his hair. He didn't know how much time had passed before he jerked over sideways, snorting as he woke up abruptly. Coughing, he sat up and rubbed his aching elbow, which had been on the edge of the window. He then ran his hand through his hair. Almost instantly, his body jerked forward and he sat up abruptly. Apparently he kept drifting off to sleep. Out of nowhere, Robin flinched when a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders and tried to pull him over.

"I know you hate me, Robin, but you need to sleep," Slade said. Robin tried to sit back up straight, but Slade wouldn't lessen his hold. In the end, Robin was too tired to care anymore. Closing his eyes, he collapsed against Slade's side, resting his head on his shoulder. "You won't even know I'm here…"

Robin fell asleep almost instantly. Slade kept his arm wrapped around his shoulders, not letting him fall. He stared out the windshield in silence. An hour later and King glanced at them.

"I don't know how much more of this Robin can take. I can feel his spirit slipping away more and more each day."

"I know," Slade said solemnly.

"Then we should end his suffering."

Slade looked at King, glaring. King stared at him in surprise for a moment before looking out the windshield.

"That is not an option. I promised his father that I would keep him alive."

"Some promises are meant to be broken," King hissed, as not to awaken Robin. "Do you honestly think this damn war is going to end? Because I sure fucking don't. Robin can't keep _living_ like this!"

"You think I don't know that?" Slade asked angrily, not taking his eyes off King. "I don't want him in this war just as much as you do, but what choice do we have? Even though there's hardly a chance to end the war, doesn't mean there still isn't one. Bruce believes in Robin, so why don't you?"

King glanced at him, unsure of what to say. Slade kept glaring at him, waiting. After a few minutes, King looked back out the windshield and snorted.

"His father sounds like a gullible fool."

Slade blinked in surprise at King's answer. He leaned back, suddenly starting to think. That night, the two trucks stopped for the night, so that everyone could get a good night's sleep. Then the next day, they continued, after changing seating arrangements up a bit. King, Ishmael, and Robin went to sit in the back of one truck while three soldiers sat up front to drive. Then Slade, Red X, the female soldier were in the back of the second truck while three more soldiers drove the other vehicle. Robin sat in the back left corner, leaning sideways. He sniffed a slightly stuffed up nose, but thought nothing of it. King stretched and yawned at the end of the truck, his arms sticking out of the opened back.

"We should have enough fuel for the next three days before we have to start walking again."

"I know."

King looked insecurely at Robin, noticing something very off about him. "Robin, are you alright?"

Coming out of his thoughts, Robin looked over at King. "Yeah, why?"

King blinked. "I'm…not sure." Shrugging, Robin looked at his corner and was silent. King kept checking up on him every few minutes. The closer the end of the day got, Robin looked a little worse for wares. Every half an hour to forty minutes he would sniff, sometimes more than once. "You know, if there was something bothering you, you can always talk to me," King said that night as they camped.

Robin smiled tiredly at him. "Yeah, I know."

King smiled back. "Well good. Make sure you eat something before bed."

The next day, while Robin sat up front with Red X, he sneezed really hard, snot coming out of his nose. Red grimaced next to him.

"That was gross."

Robin sniffed in hard while wiping the rest of his nose on a hard cloth. "Sorry…"

"Yeesh, you don't sound so good."

Robin just shrugged as he leaned against the seat. By that night, Robin had gotten significantly worse, but he never brought it up. Not only was he stuffed up, but his throat was scratchy and he started coughing, lightly at first. No one else brought his sniffing and coughing up, but they were thinking about it. They themselves weren't feeling all that great, but they didn't sound like Robin at all. By the next afternoon, the vehicles no longer able to work due to dead batteries and not enough fuel, Robin's head felt like an inflated balloon, his throat hurt, he had mucus in his aching chest, and he was coughing terribly. Slade and Ishmael had finally had enough.

"Robin, are you not feeling well?" they both asked at the same time.

Smiling weakly at them, Robin shook his head. "No, I'm fine." His voice sounded a little different but not enough to really notice. His nose was completely plugged up. "Just don't-hack!-worry about me."

Ishmael and Slade glanced at each other, having the complete opposite feeling. After a couple more days, Robin's whole body ached and he was coughing violently every few seconds. But still he kept walking, not telling anyone how he really felt. Everyone started to get worried.

"Hock! Ahoo-hoo-ack!" Robin sniffed in hard after coughing up mucus. When everyone glanced worriedly at him, he gave them all glares. "Would you all stop!" His voice was completely congested sounding. "Its just a damn cold!"

"Well it's a pretty bad one," one of the soldiers said out loud.

"Yeah, and we don't want it!"

Robin snorted, only to start coughing again. He literally felt like his ribs were going to pop right out of his chest. "A cold has to get worse before it gets better, so I'm guessing that's what's happening with me. I'll be fine. Really."

No one was convinced at all, but none of them argued. They didn't want to anger Robin anymore. Late that night, unable to sleep due to his chest hurting and coughing his lungs out, Robin got up and started walking around, to maybe loosen everything up. He could hardly breathe now either, but he was still adamant that he would be fine in a day or two. Reaching a tree a few yards away, Robin sat down as he started coughing again. He didn't know how much time had passed before someone came up behind him.

"_Robin, you're not fine."_

Looking over, Robin smiled weakly at Ishmael as he stood next to him. "You don't have to worry about me."

"_But I am."_

Looking away, Robin chortled. "Well you shouldn't. Nobody should."

Ishmael looked at him, confused. _"__Why do you say that? King, Red X, and, as much as you don't want to hear it, Slade, care about you. Why else do you think they have been worried about you the last three days?"_

Robin suddenly laughed dryly. "Yeah right! Red might have some sympathy, but Slade and King only care about one thing."

Ishmael's eyes narrowed. _"__What are you trying to say?"_

Robin snorted, amused. "I doubt they would want to fuck a corpse."

Ishmael's eyes widened. Robin wasn't making any sense. He had to have a fever or something to spout something so disgusting.

"_They don't keep you around just because they're horny, Robin! Out of this whole entire trip since King joined us, you two only had sex twice! You are speaking nothing but **lies** about your friends!"_

Darkness covered Robin's face. Ishmael could feel his anger boiling over in two seconds flat.

"Go away."

"_Robin, I know they did terrible things to you, but they are your friends!"_

Robin suddenly turned on Ishmael, making him step back in shock. "_Go AWAY!_" he practically screamed. Ishmael looked hurt at hearing Robin yell at him for the very first time. "Go! I never want to hear that word again! My friends are _DEAD_!" Tears formed in Ishmael's eyes and then quickly fell. "You hear me?! They're all dead! They won't ever come back! Never again!"

While Robin continued to rant and rave at him, Ishmael turned around and ran back to camp. Red X jumped in surprise when the boy practically dived under his blanket.

"Ishmael?!"

Back at the tree, Robin was smashing the back of his head against the rough trunk, crying heavily. His lips were parted as he had his teeth clenched tightly together. A severe migraine started to form. It got even worse when he started coughing very violently, worse than he had all week. Having to sit up, Robin leaned over, coughed very hard a few more times, and then vomited. He coughed and hacked, trying to get the rest of the mucus that was stuck in his throat out. Shoving his fingers down his throat, he vomited what was left, and then some. When his air passageways were clear, he gulped in some much needed air. He coughed again, but not as bad as before. Maybe that was all he needed, was to cough up all that congestion and mucus to feel better. After regaining his breath by panting, Robin looked down and saw what he had vomited up. His eyes widened in fear when he saw black.

Hands shaking, Robin lifted his fingers to his mouth, touched the inside of his bottom lip, and then pulled them away to reveal spit, mucus, and blood. More tears fell from his eyes as he saw it. After a few seconds, Robin slowly looked up, tears falling down his face.

"Am I…dying…?"

As Robin calmed down, he slowly closed his mouth, sniffed, and then swallowed. Silently, he got up, moved to another tree close to camp, and sat back down. The minute he leaned back, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>It was the next morning. Everyone but Robin was awake, packing up their stations. Being the first one done and noticing Robin was the only one not there, Slade looked around and spotted him. Or, parts of his hair at least. He was unmoving and silent. Frowning softly and furrowing his brow, Slade set his backpack down and approached him.<p>

"Robin, you're the last one up." Stopping when he was in front of him, Slade stared down and saw Robin sound asleep. "Robin, we have to keep moving. You can't sleep anymore." Robin didn't stir. Something started nagging Slade in the back of his mind. "Robin?" Stopping what he was doing, King looked over and saw Slade crouch in front of Robin, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I know you've been giving me the silent treatment for months, but you haven't ignored me. Now wake up."

King suddenly felt something jolt in his chest. Mind going numb, he stepped towards them. "Robin…?"

Slade's eyes widened. "Robin no!" Everyone but Ishmael looked up and over. Slade shook Robin hard, but he didn't open his eyes. "Robin, wake up!" He then slammed Robin's head into the tree, to try and jolt him awake, but he went limp. Slade quickly shoved his fingers against the muscle in his neck that pulsed along with his heart, but it was gone. Panic filled Slade. "NO!"

Without wasting another second, Slade yanked Robin into his arms bridal style, turned, and then ran towards King, who was rushing over. King moved aside to let the man pass him.

"Slade, what's wrong with him?!"

"Finish packing! The next town has a hospital! Meet us there!"

And that was all Slade could give before he vanished from sight. Finally having looked at Robin in Slade's arms seconds before, Ishmael's eyes were wide open in fright.

"_What have I done?"_

Red X ran to Ishmael, grabbed his arms, and turned him around to look him dead in the eye. "What happened to Robin?!"

Ishmael stared up at him with tears in his eyes. _"__Robin. He's dying."_

If Ishmael had looked at Robin the moment Slade was awake, he would have seen that Robin was in a coma. If Slade didn't make it to the hospital in time…

As Ishmael thought of this, Slade ran as fast as he could without dropping Robin from his arms. He was heading for the main road, where he prayed to whoever was listening to make it to town in time. Closing his eyes tight, he growled as he thought of Robin dying. Slade couldn't, _wouldn't _let that happen.

'_I will save you, Robin. I swear to you on the grave of my dead wife!'_

If Slade didn't make it in time, then there would be _Hell _to pay…


	13. A New World Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

There was a faint sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily in the darkness. Sitting in a white chair, Slade was slouching, his legs spread out in front of him. With his elbows on the arm rests, he was able to hold his fingers together and hold his pointer and middle finger under his chin. He stared at the floor with narrowed eyes, not thinking of anything. He looked like a desperate man, waiting for the love of his life to wake up. A few feet away from his feet was a hospital bed. A black-haired, teenage boy was lying flat on his back in it, his chest bare and his eyes lightly closed. He was completely still, like the dead. Over his mouth was on oxygen tank mask, helping him to breathe. An IV drip was in his right wrist, giving him fluids. The heart monitor was normal and still beeping steadily.

Dark blue eyes fluttered open slowly. Slade didn't seem to notice. The eyes blinked a few times in quick succession. After a few seconds, they cast down to see the mask over his face. Then, slowly turning his head to the left, Robin saw Slade. Swallowing, he shakily lifted his hand to the oxygen mask and pulled it down gently in order to speak.

"S-Slade…?"

His voice was weak and groggy, but Slade's head shot up, his mouth falling open and his eyes widening. Seeing Robin with his eyes open and moving, Slade jumped to his feet, rushed to the bedside, and then quickly wrapped his arms around him. Robin's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden un-Slade-like gesture.

"Oh Robin, thank god you're alive." Robin's eyes slowly narrowed. Sadness filled him. After holding him for a few minutes, Slade carefully let him go and moved his bangs off his forehead, smiling weakly. "We thought we'd lost you…"

Robin blinked a few times, not sure what he was talking about. "How come?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He felt so exhausted.

Pulling the chair up to the bed, Slade sat down and ran his hand through Robin's hair. "Almost two weeks ago, you contracted an infection that slowly spread throughout your entire body. It disguised itself as the common cold. Then, a few days ago, it nearly took your life." Robin blinked again, slower this time. "If I hadn't found the ambulance on its way to the nearest hospital in time, you would not be here right now. You have been in a life-threatening coma ever since."

Robin stared silently at him for a little while longer before turning his head to look up at the white ceiling. His eyes were almost completely closed. Slade kept running his hand through his hair. Several minutes passed with only the heart monitor making a sound.

"Slade?"

Slade looked at Robin's somber face. "What is it, Robin?"

Robin slowly turned his face towards him. "Where's Ishmael?"

"In the waiting room, with the others."

"Will you bring him to me?"

Smiling, Slade nodded. "Of course."

Standing up, Slade turned and headed for the hospital room door. Robin kept his head turned as he waited a good ten minutes for Slade to return. Instead, Ishmael appeared in the doorway, stared at Robin with watery eyes for a second, and then rushed to his side. Robin made an "oomph" sound when the boy slammed into him, crying.

"_Oh Robin, I am so sorry! If I had just looked at you the morning you wouldn't wake up, I could've told Slade sooner that you were dying! But I was so angry when you yelled at me and said those horrible things when none of them were true! I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Please forgive me!"_

While Ishmael continued to sob and cry and say how sorry he was for being so stupid, Robin stared down at the top of his head, his face blank. After a few seconds, he carefully laid his free arm over the middle of his back, gripping his side with his hand. Ishmael hugged him tighter.

"I'm sorry too," Robin said tiredly. "But it's…alright now. I'm still here…"

Ishmael sniffed but didn't let go. _"__No, it's not. There is so much you have to know that only I can tell you. I know things that aid the turn of events on the war. I have kept it from you because I did not want you to quit trying to move forward. There is so much more at stake here than you know." _Ishmael finally lifted himself up, staring at Robin's face. _"__Robin, do you know __**why **__the cursed man needed only __**your **__blood to break his curse?" _Robin didn't say anything. _"__It's because you're special. Ever since your parents died, you had so many hardships that would have turned a normal person insane. You were imprisoned, hurt, forced to do terrible things, raped, maimed, watched the ones you cared for die, and yet you're still here. You still have that tiny spark in you to save the world and everyone in it because it __**needs **__you. You have the blood of a warrior coursing through your veins and it is ultimately you who will end the war because of it. I was worried that if I told you from the start, that you would kill that spark and allow the world to end. So please don't let the heart of a fool guide you to failure. Because Earth needs you. __**We **__need you."_

Robin didn't say a single word. He just stared at Ishmael with the same blank stare, not even thinking. In the deepest corners of his mind, he knew, without question, that what Ishmael said was true. Over the course of almost ten years, Robin had survived, even the worst catastrophes that would make a normal man go insane. But he was still here, still fighting, still _hoping,_ that everything would be okay. He was still alive because he wanted to be. And _nothing_ was going to stop him.

* * *

><p>For the next three days, Robin stayed in the hospital. The payment was absolutely nothing. In this city, no one cared about the greed for money or possessions. All they cared about were the people that needed their help. Sharing was caring and that's all that mattered.<p>

Robin still felt weak as he tried to get out of his hospital bed, but he was given antibiotics to fight off the rest of the infection that still plagued his heart. Since the hospital lacked enough wheelchairs, Robin had to either be carried or walk. Wanting to meet the rest of his companions with his head held high, Robin denied Slade's offer of carrying him. Instead, he leaned sideways against him with his strong arm holding him. It took a couple of minutes to reach the small waiting room. When he saw King, Red X, Ishmael, and the soldiers waiting for him with smiles, Robin smiled weakly back, glad to have so many _friends _again.

Slade and Robin stopped a few feet away. Slade carefully released him and then stepped away. Robin favored his left leg in order to keep his balance. No one moved or said a word for a while. King was the first to step forward. As he got closer, he spread out his arms, wrapped them around Robin firmly but gently, and then hugged him, tears forming in his eyes.

"We thought we'd lost you…"

Smiling and crying tears of joy, Robin hugged him back, standing up a little straighter. "Never…"

For the next few minutes, Robin greeted and hugged everyone, telling all of them that he would be okay now. The only one who didn't get a hug was Slade. He actually looked disheartened that he couldn't join them. Robin would never forgive him ever again, no matter how much the villain begged. Slade knew that he did not deserve forgiveness. Not after all he had done, even before the war. Once everyone was unmoving and silent again, Slade came forward, stopped behind Robin, a placed a hand on his shoulder. Robin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"There's a hotel nearby. They saved a recovery room all for you. We should go so you can continue to rest."

Robin nodded slowly, not wanting to get dizzy due to weakness. They stared at each other for a second before Slade lifted his hand and placed it on the side of Robin's head. Robin slowly closed his eyes and inhaled. He didn't acknowledge the caring, firm kiss to the top of his head that lasted a good five seconds. Lowering his hand, Slade gently turned Robin around. The teen faced King, who stepped forward to help him walk. Robin walked around his outstretched arm and allowed King to lead him away. Slade waited for them to be halfway across the room before following. As he caught up to Red, the thief patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry buddy." Slade rolled his eyes. "Things will look up eventually."

Slade didn't say anything. He followed everyone through the hospital and out the door, where a few jeeps were waiting. King and Robin got into the first one, sitting in the back. Feeling exhausted after just that few feet, Robin rested against King, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. King wrapped his arm around him and held him against his side.

"You should go back to sleep," he said quietly.

Robin just nodded and snuggled up close to King. Within seconds, he fell straight to sleep.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, Robin stayed in his very nice hotel room on a soft, king-sized bed, sleeping and regaining his lost strength. The antibiotics had cured most of his ailments, but he was still weak. Luckily he never had to get out of the warm bed unless to use the bathroom and take a bath. King brought him breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed to help speed up the healing process. Robin didn't get visitors a lot, but he was content that way. All he wanted was to get better so that he could keep to his promises.<p>

On the fifth day, Robin was on his side, the blanket pulled almost all the way over his head. He breathed long and deep, but quietly. His entire body was nothing but warm and safe. By tomorrow morning, he would be up and ready to continue traveling.

There was a soft knock on his door. Robin pulled the blanket down in order to see the door ten feet away.

"It's open," he said softly.

The door slowly creaked open. Peeking around the corner, Slade saw Robin laying down. "May I come in?"

Robin nodded. "Sure."

Opening the door all the way, Slade entered, closing it behind him. Moving to the bedside, he crouched to be eye level with Robin.

"How do you feel?"

"Much better. How are you?"

Slade was a little taken aback by this. "Oh, well, everything's fine. Everyone is enjoying the time off from traveling."

Robin smiled weakly. "That's good." Slade just snorted softly behind a smile. They were silent for a while. "So…you rushed me to the hospital, huh?"

Slade nodded. "Yes, I did. Not long after I found the main road, an ambulance was heading back to its place of origin, so they let us on. They took very good care of you in your coma."

Robin smiled a little stronger. "I'm glad. Thank you." Slade blinked. He didn't expect Robin to ever say that to him. There was a pause. "Slade?"

Coming out of his thoughts, Slade turned his gaze back on Robin. "Hm…?"

Looking at the arm on the edge of the bed, Robin reached over and placed his hand on it. Slade blinked down at the gesture in confusion.

"I know…you would never actually say it, but…" Robin's eyes narrowed almost closed. "But I forgive you." Slade's eyes widened. Did he just-? Robin sighed. "And I'm sorry too. You only killed Chimera because you thought he was trying to kill me. Even after Red X told me I would do the same if it was my friends, I didn't care. I can't keep hating you anymore, especially not now, when we're so close to the end." Looking up at a dumbstruck Slade, Robin told him what Ishmael said in the hospital. "So long as you're still alive and keeping me alive and safe, as you promised…then I have to save _you_, too."

Robin lowered his gaze again. Slade stared at him silently for a few more minutes. Exhaling out of his nose, he grabbed Robin's hand that was still on his arm.

"I'm sorry." Robin quickly looked back up, slightly stunned. Slade looked very sincere in his apology. "I'm sorry for hurting you all those years. I'm sorry I took advantage of you after your friends perished. And I'm sorry for pushing you into this situation. I never should have promised Bruce to take care of you. It has caused you nothing but grief. I have no excuses for the pain I've put you through. And I do not deserve your forgiveness."

Robin stared at Slade with watery eyes. Tears dripped down his cheeks. "We would have died a long time ago if it wasn't for you." After a few seconds, Robin remembered something from long ago. "Ishmael once said, "Fate has a way of bringing two or more people together, for a reason it will not give"." Slade looked up at him. "I finally understand that now. Fate may be cruel, but it is how we _learn_ from Fate's decisions that defines us. Therefore, no matter how tough life gets, it makes us all the more stronger. Just so long as we let it make us stronger."

Silence filled the slowly darkening room. Getting his arm free, Slade ran his hand through Robin's hair.

"Soon, this war will be over, and then we can continue on with our lives. And I will be there with you, every step of the way. We might be broken, but, together, we can be put back together again."

Robin smiled weakly up at him. "I like the sound of that." Slade smiled softly back. After a few seconds, Robin rolled onto his back and carefully sat up, leaning against the headboard. Slade stood up. "Slade, I have a…confession to make."

Slade tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Confession? About what?"

Robin looked up at him, slightly amused. "I don't know if you noticed Slade, but I…heh, well I've been trying to make you jealous."

Slade blinked. "Really? Since when?"

Robin scratched at his temple. "Ever since I let King join our group. I thought it would work after I had sex with him the first time, but you never came out and admitted it."

Snorting in amusement, Slade smirked. "You little sneak."

Robin chuckled. "But it worked, didn't it? You got jealous of King being around me all the time. You did a good job concealing it, but Red knew. Honestly, you should listen to him more often. He notices little things like that…" Slade shook his head but then nodded in agreement. Red _had_ told him. "So, who was a little jealous old man?"

Slade rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I was…"

Robin smirked, pulling his pointer finger towards himself. "Then come down here, lover boy."

Smiling sincerely, Slade got one knee on the edge of the bed, placed his left hand on the side of Robin's neck, and then leaned in to press their lips together. They kissed a few times, one being more passionate than the last. Soon, Robin began to lower himself down, hinting for Slade to get on top of him. After a seventh kiss, Slade stopped and pulled back, looking concerned.

"But what about King? Aren't you two together?"

Robin shook his head. "No, our relationship was mostly platonic. He knew a long time ago that it was only for the time being. We just had a small fling, that's all. Besides, he's probably wooing Red right now."

Now that Slade thought about it, King and Red had been gone all day long, nowhere to be found. He then smirked.

"Well good. All the more for me then."

Chuckling, Robin placed his hands on the sides of Slade's neck and pulled him down for another kiss. Slade soon placed his leg over him, carefully straddling his stomach. Robin moved his hands to the nape of Slade's neck, digging his fingers through white hair as they kissed more passionately. For the first few minutes Robin was nervous, because he still kept remembering about Slade raping him before. He tried hard to get rid of the memory, but was only half successful. Robin couldn't help but let tears spring to the corners of his eyes. They soon fell, one of the tears touching Slade's thumb. His hand had moved to Robin's cheek before he wanted to gently grab the top of his hair. Slade pulled away from the kiss a few centimeters.

"I'm sorry." Slade kissed him again, his hand moving back to Robin's neck. "I'm sorry." Every time Slade finished a kiss, he apologized to Robin. After ten times, the tears were gone and Robin felt safer. "I'm sorry."

Pulling Slade's head down again, Robin smashed their lips together, so that he wouldn't apologize again. Soon, the man's hand lowered to Robin's hip and slowly pushed its way up his shirt to feel his left side. Slade felt up his body gently, enjoying the skin-on-skin contact. He then did the other side with his other hand, pushing the shirt up. When his nipples were exposed, Robin pulled out of the next kiss and lifted his upper back a few inches. Slade removed his shirt, tossing it aside. Moving down a few inches, he kissed Robin's collarbone and made his way down to his chest. Breath hitching, the teen closed his eyes tight. With his slick, wet, slithering tongue, Slade touched Robin's right nipple, pushing it upward. He licked it a few times before gently raking his teeth across the perking bud. What felt like electrical currents traveled all the way to Robin's nether regions as the sensitive, untouched nerves came to life.

"Hrk, S-Slade…" Slade had placed his lips around the perked bud, sucking it in to coat it in saliva. The currents kept traveling all the way down to Robin's penis, which was slowly hardening. Slade stuck his tongue out again as he continued to lick the teen's breast, swirling it around. Robin half whimpered, half whined at the foreign feeling. "Slade, k-keep…g-going…low-"

After a few more licks, Slade started on the other nipple. Robin moaned softly when his warm hand started massaging the wet breast, using his thumb to push the nipple around. After the other nipple was perked and red, Slade moved his next kiss to Robin's sternum. He then gradually continued lower, using his thumbs on Robin's hardened nipples for a few seconds before trailing his hands down his chest. Carefully sitting up, Robin moved back a few inches, panting softly down at Slade's head. When the man reached his shorts, he dug his thumbs into the hem and pulled them down. Robin had to lift his ass off the bed to get them out from under him. He had gone commando last night, so his hardening cock bounced free from their confinement. Grabbing the base when he saw it, Slade softly ran his hand up and down it. Gritting his teeth, Robin growled softly as heat began to rise through his crotch.

"You are so beautiful…"

"A-Am not," Robin grumbled. He gasped when Slade licked the head, making the foreskin peel away. "Ahn, just…j-just do it…" Holding the base of Robin's cock again, Slade held it straight up, licked his lips, and then engulfed the head. Robin had to quickly grab his shoulders so that he wouldn't fall backwards when his head tilted back. "A-Ah, fuck…"

Slade pushed the foreskin back all the way with his lips as he put more of the erection in his mouth. Robin continued to pant and moan, sweat forming on his face at the wonderful heat flowing through him. He continued staring at Slade until the amazing feeling got too much. So he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around the man's head, panting and moaning above him. Soon, Slade's sucking grew more fervent, his saliva dripping down the full length and over Robin's balls. The teen softly moved his hips back and forth without his permission, groaning loudly when his penis went all the way in Slade's mouth. When Slade swallowed, Robin cried out when the head went right down his throat.

"D-Don't…" Slade pulled back most of the way, sucked on the head, and then moved back down swiftly. He went up and down a few inches in quick succession before engulfing the full length again and sucking hard. Robin kept moaning with each suck and lick thereafter. Near the two minute mark, he knew he would come, all the way down Slade's throat. Lifting himself up a few inches, he grabbed the man's hair and tried to pull his head up. "W-Watch me…c-come…"

Slade sucked hard, like he was drinking a thick milkshake through a thin straw, while lifting his head. Sitting up a bit, he watched Robin's hard cock bounce back and forth after it was released. Placing his right hand to the underside, he moved it up and down along the length, feeling its firmness. Robin was very flaccid and hard. Grabbing it softly, Slade moved his hand up and down slow and steady. When he reached the head, he firmly pressed it with his thumb, making Robin tense up and flinch back. Placing his hands down beside him, he leaned back a few inches and watched Slade jerk him off. Seconds later, while gritting his teeth and closing his eyes tight, Robin came, cum sky rocketing into the air. The teen cried out as he released his full load. Slade held it back in order for it to hit Robin in the stomach and chest. The rest came oozing out and traveling over the man's hand and the teen's length and balls.

Slade started moving his hand on Robin's penis again, covering it in his cum. Robin panted with one eye closed, the tender and heavy feeling inside him diminishing. His cum moved down his chest and stomach, filling his belly button and moving down his groins. Unable to stay up anymore, Robin fell back, breathing heavily to regain his breath. When the final squirt came, Slade moved his hand up and down a few more times before letting it go. The penis flopped back down in between Robin's legs. Lifting his hand to his face, Slade licked it clean, tasting a hint of mint. When Robin was breathing normally again, he stared up at the ceiling, content. Leaning his head down a few seconds later, Slade started to clean him up. Feeling his tongue and hearing him swallow, Robin lifted his head as high as he could and saw the top of the man's head. Smiling softly, he reached forward, pressing his hand to it. Sucking his tongue back in, Slade lifted his head and saw Robin staring contentedly at him. Smiling back, Slade moved up alongside him and laid down. Rolling over, Robin snuggled back against him, pressing his bare ass to the man's crotch firmly. Slade wrapped his arm over his side and kissed his neck.

"You taste delicious." Robin chortled softly. "Such beautiful skin…"

Slade continued to kiss his neck. Robin soon closed his eyes. "Thank you, for apologizing."

"Of course," Slade said before kissing his shoulder. There was a long pause. "From now on, I will ask."

Robin smiled happily and content. "Mmm…kay…"

Grabbing the blanket at the foot of the bed, Slade pulled it over them and then helped Robin take his shorts all the way off. Robin bent his legs to make it easier on him. Pulling them out from under the blanket, Slade dropped them to the floor behind him.

"We'll take it nice and slow. When you are ready for the final step, let me know and I will give you the best, consensual ride of your life." Slade kissed his cheek. "I can be very gentle if I wanted to you know."

Robin snuggled closer as a response, rubbing his ass against Slade's cock. "I believe you."

"Good." Finally becoming still, Robin inhaled deeply and let exhaustion consume his brain and shut it down. When he knew he was asleep, Slade whispered in his ear, "I love you, my pretty little Robin. And I will forever be sorry for your pain…"

Lowering his head to the bed, Slade inhaled Robin's scent and then became still and silent, holding onto him for as long as he was allowed.


	14. A New World Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 2 and 4

"So…why exactly are we going east again?"

A week had passed since Robin was released from the hospital. He was a hundred percent better, not a trace of the infection left. He was in the lead with Ishmael walking next to him and Slade following behind. Red was walking with King when he asked this.

"It's just a gut feeling," Robin answered.

"So we're going to the east coast then."

Robin looked back at Red. "No, past the east coast."

Red tilted his head to the right in confusion. "And how do you plan on doing that? Air planes no longer exist."

"I don't know," Robin snapped.

Red scowled. "What do you mean you don't know? There has to be a reason to go beyond the east coast when there's no way to even do that. You plan on swimming the whole way?"

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Robin looked back ahead. "Ugh, just never mind."

Robin picked up his pace, getting irritated. Red sighed heavily in annoyance.

"Why did I decide to go with you guys again?"

King wrapped his arm around Red's middle, yanking him to his side. "Because you have a handsome man at your side."

Red looked annoyed for a few more seconds before he smiled. "I guess that's a good reason."

King chuckled before planting a kiss to his forehead. He then released Red so that they could walk normally again. Up ahead, Robin lowered his narrowed gaze to the ground. If he knew why he wanted to go beyond the east coast, then he would tell everyone. But he didn't and that had to be good enough for everyone for the time being. Once they reached the east coast, he would probably have a better idea on what to do when they got there.

By the end of the day, Robin was exhausted. He still had after effects of the infection that included fatigue and tiredness. And he got cold easily. He sat as close to the fire as he could without getting burned, but he still had goosebumps. He had his arms wrapped around him while running his hands up and down on them, trying to get warmer. A few minutes later and Slade sat down beside him, handing him some bread from the hospital town.

"Here. This will help restrengthen your immune system."

Taking it from him without a word, Robin held it close to the flames to warm it up before he tore a piece off. "Thanks."

Slade looked at the fire. Red was already asleep with his head in King's lap, snoring up a storm. King played with his hair while petting him. Ishmael was curled up in front of the fire like a dog, his eyes closed as he rested. He didn't need to sleep, but it felt nice pretending. The other soldiers were talking softly amongst themselves as they ate. The only loud sound was the crackling fire.

"I have been thinking." Robin glanced at Slade while tearing another part of the bread off. "Perhaps the reason we are going beyond the east coast is because we feel there's something over there. We don't know what it is, so we're clinging onto hope to get us there." He looked at Robin. "At the next haven, we can ask how far away from the coast we are and find out if there's a safe way to cross. I'm sure someone knows something somewhere."

Shrugging, Robin looked away and continued to eat. Reaching over, Slade ran his hand down the back of his head and then squeezed the top of his spine. Robin let him massage his neck and upper back as he finished the bread. He then stared back into the fire, exhaling. He soon closed his eyes, the heat and massage making him even sleepier. He then yawned wide, letting out a loud breath in the end. Slade squeezed each shoulder a few times before pulling Robin into his lap. The teen leaned back against his chest, inhaling deeply.

"Let's sleep in tomorrow," he said quietly. "I need the extra sleep."

"Of course." There was a pause. Turning in his lap, Robin tucked his legs in and leaned sideways against Slade, inhaling deeply as he tried to fall asleep. Slade wrapped his arms around him, to help keep him warm. "Good night, my little Robin."

Robin snuggled his head against his chest in acknowledgment before sleep consumed him. The next day, around noon, the group was off again. Slade took the lead today. Robin was behind him, feeling more refreshed than ever. He was holding Ishmael's hand.

"_How are you feeling today?" _Ishmael asked.

Robin looked down at him, smiling. "Better. I don't feel like a dead weight anymore."

"_That is a very good thing."_

Robin nodded before looking ahead. Behind them was Red and King. The thief was bored again. He sighed, but kept his mouth shut. King smiled at him, feeling bad for him. He moved a little closer so that only Red could hear.

"If you don't complain today, I'll reward you."

Red snorted, a smirk forming. "Deal…"

King nudged him with his arm, making him smile at the affection. That night, after being very pleasant all day, King and Red went far away, telling everyone not to disturb them. Robin chuckled when Slade sighed next to him.

"Someone's unhappy they're not getting any."

Slade snorted at him. "Believe me, I can wait."

"Uh-huh, _surrrrrre_."

"No, really." Robin gave him an "I'm fucking right" look, his eyebrows going up and nodding his head. "Fine. If I can wait one month before having sex with you, then I can prove it."

Robin smirked. "Fine. Deal. But you do know this means I will try my hardest to make you crack, right?"

"That wouldn't be very fair."

Closing his eyes, Robin grinned deviously. "If you're strong enough, you will ignore my advances."

Slade thought about that for a minute. He quickly grabbed Robin's hand. "I will prove to you that I can wait for that little ass of yours."

Robin's eyes widened. He then smiled softly. "Deal."

Robin tried to take his hand back, but Slade held firm. "Of course, you will have to do the same. You can try to arouse me but if you lose your self-control in the process, then the deal is off and _you _will be deemed the impatient one."

Robin's smile fell, realizing Slade was serious. Well, he wasn't expecting _that_! Robin soon smirked, gripping his hand hard back.

"You're gonna lose, old man."

"I highly doubt that."

The handshake finally ended and they moved away from each other a few feet. Ishmael rolled his eyes at them but didn't say anything. An hour later, King and Red returned, surprisingly presentable looking for people who just had vigorous sex. Red sat down next to Robin, not saying a word. Robin smiled.

"So…how was it?"

Red winked at him. "Awesome."

Robin laughed. Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, noting how much happier Robin had been the last two days. Slade couldn't remember the last time he laughed.

"Robin's happy," King said quietly next to Slade.

"I noticed. And I'm glad."

King looked down at the ground. "How long will it last is the real question. I can't explain it, but I feel like there's something bothering him deep down. He could be pulling a stunt to encourage everyone."

Slade looked at King. "Or maybe he doesn't know it."

"Maybe."

Everyone went to bed not long later and, by the next day, they were making good progress. Although they knew inevitably that they would meet bad people again soon, they still tried to be as happy and content as possible on their journey to God knows where. They had been pretty lucky so far to avoid conflict. Robin wanted it to last, but he knew it wouldn't. Deep down inside, he felt that when they reached their final destination, there would be nothing but chaos. Robin was dreading that day.

* * *

><p>It was week two into Slade and Robin's deal and neither were cracking. Even when King and Red would go off for some alone time, they remained cool, calm, and collected. But their luck was about to change. Robin was being a little sneak by hanging out with Red and King more during traveling and learning about their sex-capades. Slade had been fine the first few days, but now it was getting harder to ignore. And at night, Robin would subtly brush into him, like touching his hand, bumping his hip against him as they passed, and even sleeping in the man's lap while rubbing his butt against his crotch when he got comfortable. But still Slade didn't let that get to him and he did good at hiding his discontent.<p>

Near the end of the deal, the big group decided to stay in a haven for two days and gather intel about the east coast and what might be happening to the United States's neighbors. No one knew what was happening in other countries since no one used news reporters anymore. It was too risky and many of them had died from riots and militant groups when the war first took a drastic turn.

Up in the sky, a pigeon flew overhead. Ishmael looked up, noticing something attached to its foot. He looked at Robin, who was buying a few more weapons in the marketplace.

"_There are news carrier pigeons here."_

Looking up, Robin saw the bird flying far away. Getting excited about this, he asked the seller about them.

"A lot of the east coast towns and havens send news reports back and forth with each other. The pigeons gather at their coops, where anyone can read and send messages to fighters or loved ones. We've lost quite a few of them, but we still send messages out to people. Some are even helpful and trade merchandise with us."

"Is there anything beyond the east coast?" Robin continued. "Like, is there a way to cross the ocean to get to Europe?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that much."

Robin smiled, trading some food for a knife. "Okay, thank you. You've been very helpful."

The merchant nodded. "I wish I could do more."

"No, its fine. This is good enough." Giving a good-bye nod, Robin and Ishmael turned and found Slade and King discussing what food to buy and trade for several stalls away. Smirking as they got closer, Robin moved in close to Slade and brushed his ass with his hand when he got in the middle of them. The man tensed up slightly and then looked down. Robin smiled up at them. "Good news. Some of the towns and havens have carrier pigeons. There's coops here that are open to the public. I think we should read some and find out what's going on up ahead."

"How did you find that out?" King asked.

Robin sidled in front of Slade, pretending to look at some fruits while actually pushing his ass into his crotch. Slade gave him an annoyed look, trying to ignore him.

"One of the weapons merchants told me after I asked him about the birds. I also asked if there's a way to get to Europe but he didn't know." Slade was staring up at the sky, trying to ignore Robin being a sly little fox. "Wow, don't these limes look good…"

As he bent over to feel them, Robin rubbed his ass into Slade's crotch harder, making him close his eyes tight as he tried to hold back the urge to thrust against him. Before he lost the bet, he turned and walked off to a different stand. Robin smirked after him before turning to King, who scowled at him. Chuckling, Robin walked away to find Red.

Elsewhere, Red was talking to a little ecstatic boy as he was crouched to be at his level. The boy was telling him a fantastic story about pirates and their rich bounty. For a nine year old, the boy was very expressive and had a huge imagination. Robin stopped behind them to listen.

"And then Gold Roger thrust his cutlass into Blackbeard and saved the day! Then the crew lived happily ever after; the end!"

Robin smiled weakly at him, but there was sadness in his eyes. If only this boy knew how real and dangerous violence actually was…

"That was a great story, kid. As promised, here." Red handed the boy an apple and three silver coins. "Just don't spend them all in one place."

"Thank you! I won't!"

Turning around, the boy ran off, clutching the coins hard in his hand. Chuckling, Red stood up and turned. He saw Robin standing a few feet away, looking disheartened. Red blinked in confusion at him.

"What's wrong?"

Robin shook his head. "Nothing."

Turning, Robin walked away, needing some time alone. His feet led him to a group of homeless people, standing around a metal barrel that had a blazing fire in it. Robin stopped a few feet away, noticing how happy these people looked despite their predicament. The fact they still had such a strong spirit bothered him. His own spirit kept dwindling away the longer this war raged on. The closer they got to the coast, the worse it got. Robin suddenly frowned at the thought. Why _would_ he start losing his faith the closer they got to the coast?

Robin's eyes slowly widened, a light bulb turning on in his head. Of course! That had to be it! Turning around, Robin ran back the way he came, trying to find Slade or King, to tell them what he knew. The two men were buying blankets when he found them. Ishmael was there, having sensed Robin approaching. He turned to him before Robin got there, sliding to a stop and panting.

"I-I know why we…h-have to keep going east!"

Everyone nearby stopped what they were doing after hearing Robin shout. Moving close to him, Slade said in a whisper, "Not so loud."

"No! Listen to me!" Everyone was looking at the group in curiosity. "I just remembered something! Before everyone started going crazy, something strange happened!"

People started murmuring at each other. Some rolled their eyes and went back to what they were doing, thinking Robin was just some crazy nutcase. Slade placed his hand on Robin's shoulder, squeezing it in warning.

"Robin, not here."

Robin bucked the hand off while stepping back. "No, they have to hear this too! On the news, before all of this happened, there was a report of a strange object that fell from the sky! I didn't think anything of it when I first heard it, but I remember it! This…This _thing _crash landed in an uninhabited area in Ireland, but no one bothered to check it out because stuff like this happened all the time! This is why we have to go east! We have to find this thing and stop it!"

Slade frowned, confused. "Stop it? Stop what?"

Robin almost answered, but he stopped. "I…I-I'm not sure…"

A merchant close to Robin leaned over his stand, glaring. "Hey, you're freaking people out. Fuck off."

Robin flinched, a nerve in his forehead pulsing in anger. Turning, he was ready to jump the guy but Slade quickly grabbed around him and yanked him back.

"I'm very sorry. My son is just tired-"

"They need to be freaked out! They need to know what's happening!" Robin struggled in Slade's strong grasp. "Let go of me! They have to understand! They have to know what started the _war_! I have to tell them!"

King stared at Robin in worry. He was really freaking out. Hearing people talk louder, he glanced out of the corner of his eye, glaring. He then turned around and stepped threateningly towards them.

"Shut up! Mind your own damn business! Go on! Get!" Getting annoyed and angry at him, people turned away and went back to their daily lives. Robin was still ranting and raving as Slade carried him away. "I'll go get the others!"

Turning, King ran off. Meanwhile, reaching their hotel a few minutes later, Slade finally set Robin down, who had relaxed and was silent. They entered their shared room, Slade dead bolting the door closed. Robin went straight to his bed, curling up into the fetal position. Slade set his traveler's pack down in the chair by the small table before walking around the first bed to get to his. Sitting down, he started taking his shoes off. Robin stared off into space, his gaze slightly unfocused. He blinked slowly.

"…There's something over there, Slade. I just know it." Putting his foot down, Slade looked up at him. Robin blinked again. "That's why I-_we _need to keep going east. The closer we get there, the weaker my drive to move forward gets. There's something over there, making me feel like this." Robin slowly lifted his gaze to Slade, whose face was blank but his eyes were narrowed. "I know it sounds crazy, Slade, but I believe it's true. Whatever landed in Ireland is causing people to fight and kill each other. That's what started this war. It _has_ to be…"

Robin trailed off, feeling ashamed of himself. He wished he knew all the answers already, but there were too many blanks. Nobody knew what was _in_ this part of Ireland, for one. There was no explanation on how this thing was making people crazy either. And why would some random thing from the sky cause this in the first place? Nothing made sense, but Robin knew that this was it. This was the answer he had been searching for ever since he lost his family to the war. He had to find this thing and stop it, before there was nobody left…

Robin's eyes suddenly widened when a large hand landed on his shoulder and tried pushing him backwards. Laying down, he stared up at Slade, who looked sincere and caring.

"I believe you."

Tears sprang to Robin's eyes at hearing this. Closing them, he started to cry heavily. Why did he have to be burdened with all of this? Why did he have to be Earth's savior? Why was he the only answer to everyone's problems? And why did Fate have to be so goddamn cruel?

Robin's eyes snapped open in surprise. His vision was slightly blurred as he saw Slade kissing him. More tears fell down his face when he realized the man was trying to comfort him. So he closed his eyes and kissed back, more tears squeezing out. They kissed passionately again a few times before Robin lifted his hand and placed it on Slade's neck. He felt the ends of the man's hair against his fingertips, noting how soft and clean it was. Carefully, Slade got one knee on the bed beside him, running his hand through his hair. Robin opened his mouth as the man tried another kiss, sticking his tongue out a bit. Catching the hint, Slade placed his tongue inside his mouth and closed around it. Robin slowly sat up as they kissed several times this way, wrapping his left arm around the man's shoulders and gripping the back of his head with his right hand. With his other free hand, Slade pushed the side of Robin's shirt up to expose his stomach. It quivered from the ghostly, almost ticklish touch. Opening his mouth again, Robin breathed heavily. Slade stared lovingly down at him, running his hand through his hair again.

"May I comfort you, my little Robin?"

Closing his mouth and swallowing, Robin nodded. He then spread and bent his knees up. Slade moved in between his legs, pressed down gently, and then went back to kissing him. Robin lowered his legs back down, hugging Slade's sides. After a few more kisses, Slade lifted Robin's shirt and pulled it off. With his left hand, he unbuckled his belt and laid the ends down. They continued to kiss as they undressed in silence. When they were completely nude, Slade reached in between his thighs, grabbed his penis, and started to masturbate to make it erect and slick. Robin was already panting as he felt Slade's balls against his limp penis with each pull. Swallowing, the teen placed his hands against the sides of the man's ribs, feeling the strong muscles underneath. When the foreskin was parted and a few beads of pre-cum came up, Slade grabbed it and then ran it down his full length to slick it up. He was now ready to ease it inside of Robin.

Lifting his crotch up a few inches, Slade lowered the head to Robin's ass crack and pressed it in. He had to maneuver it a few times to get it partly in the hole. Gritting his teeth, Robin growled as it pushed in. Before Slade thrust all the way in, he licked his fingers and then pressed them to Robin's puckered entrance. Closing his eyes, Robin inhaled sharply as the man pushed his fingertip against the edge, to help spread him open. Slade pulled out a couple centimeters and thrust in again. Opening his mouth, Robin cried out softly as the thick organ slowly filled him.

"A-Ah, Slade…"

Slade kissed him to calm him down. "Shh, I'll be good to you…"

Robin just nodded, already knowing that he would. Slowly but surely, Slade eased his erection all the way in, causing a lot of discomfort. He waited for Robin to relax before pulling out an inch and thrusting gently back in. Robin tensed up but quickly relaxed, breathing heavily. Slade kissed him again as he pulled out a little further and thrust back in a little harder. Losing his breath, Robin turned his face away, making Slade kiss his neck instead. With their heads right beside each other, Robin slipped his arms over the man's shoulders, digging the fingers of his right hand along his upper back. He panted and moaned softly into the air, the erection filling him completely as Slade quickened his pace. Robin's left hand dug through the man's unruly white hair as his body tightened against him.

"Ungh, ah, ah, ahhh Slade, ah, I…n-need more…" Robin cried out when Slade penetrated him deeper. His wet mushroom tip was prodding his prostate, sending delicious electrical currents through his nerves that ended up in his gut. Slade had stopped kissing Robin's neck seconds ago, breathing faintly near his ear. Unlike the horrible rape almost two years ago, he was gentle and caring and took his time for Robin to get used to him. Robin soon gripped Slade tighter and moaned loudly, coaxing him to move faster and harder again. "Ah, ah, AH! A-AH SLADE!" Robin's mouth was wide open as Slade held his last thrust in for several seconds, the tip of his cock prodding the teen's prostate. He then pulled back and continued his previous pace, his own breathing getting a little louder. "Oh Slade p-please! M-More…!"

Lifting himself out of Robin's grip, Slade grabbed his hips firmly and quickened his pace again while yanking him forward. Robin writhed and moaned in pure ecstasy, his ass cheeks tightening around the man's arousal. His hands gripped the warm sheets tightly because of his prostate getting hit over and over again. He then threw his head back, crying out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

* * *

><p>It was dark, and it was completely quiet. Under the sheets in the second bed, Robin stared somberly across the room, his eyes half open. His arms were in front of his face. Directly behind him, spooning, was Slade, his chin resting gently on the top of Robin's head. His eyes were closed lightly, but he was awake. Neither moved nor had spoken a word in an hour. Getting a clear view of the other bed, Robin could remember quite clearly what had happened there. Then, when it was all over and he realized what he had done with Slade, he had broken down. He didn't even know why he had been crying really, it just happened. Perhaps it was because he remembered what had happened the first time he lost his virginity to the very same person. Only this time, it was completely consensual. But still, it had caused Robin to emotionally breakdown and question his actions. Why had he allowed Slade to have sex with him? Why was it okay this time and not the time before? What had pushed Robin so far over the edge to make him go through with it? And, furthermore, was it right or was it wrong that they had done it? Was Robin…<em>okay<em>, with it?

Slowly closing his eyes, Robin thought, _'__What's done is done. I can't go back now. _…_Then why do I still feel so guilty?'_

Finally very tired, Robin slowly drifted off into a silent, fitful, but emotionally painful sleep.


	15. A New World Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

The next day, after a good breakfast at the hotel, Robin and the gang took a look at the carrier pigeon coops, to hopefully get some information about the next few havens and the east coast. They all split up to cover more ground. Slade stayed with Robin, who acted uncaring and unmotivated about everything. Yesterday was still heavily on his mind. There were plenty of people there, some talking to others, some reading meaningful messages from random strangers, and others writing their own messages. At each coop, there was a place for already opened notes and letters that people could read.

"Is there anything particular you want to look for?" Slade asked, picking up a stack of papers and beginning to skim them.

Robin shrugged, taking his own stack. "Anything about what's going on at the coast is fine."

At another coop, Red, King, and Ishmael were talking to people who had used the coops before and learning how everything worked.

"You just write yer letter, put a name in if ya want, and attach it to a pigeon. Then it flies to one of the other towns with da coops, whether it reaches the right person or town or not. It's not a fool proof plan, if ya are looking for someone specific anyway."

"Sounds simple enough," King said.

"Some of da pigeons don't like being held, so pick wisely."

The man left to check another coop. Going to the stacks of already read notes and letters, King and Red began to sift through them. Ishmael was at the coop next to them, using his mind to quickly read the letters in the box without having to move them. The pigeons hooted softly at times in the cages, some eating the seeds in tin cans in one corner of the cage.

"This will take all day," Red grumbled, finishing one stack and grabbing another. "There might not even be the right information we need in this town."

"We have to try anyway," King uttered, picking a third stack.

Red looked to where Slade and Robin were, about seven coops down. He watched Robin read one page every three seconds, placing a finished page down non-too-caring in another box. Red looked concerned for his well being.

"Robin doesn't look too good, does he?"

Pausing, King glanced at Robin out of the corner of his eye before going back to his fourth stack. "Ever since his freak out yesterday, I'm not surprised he's still acting this way."

Red turned to him. "What happened exactly? I wasn't there."

King started another stack of pages. "He started raving about a thing that fell from the sky before the war started," he explained. "He had forgotten about it until yesterday. Apparently, it landed in Ireland."

"Oh yeah. No one really cared when that happened," Red stated casually. Pausing, King slowly turned his head to look at him. Red blinked back in confusion. "What?"

"What do you remember from that day?"

Red shrugged. "Just something about some round thing falling from space and landing in a wasteland in Ireland. It made a huge crater, whatever it was." Over at his coop, Ishmael was glancing at them both, hearing what Red was saying. His eyes were narrowed, like he was trying to listen hard. "Some scientists went to investigate, but never came back. No one seemed to care that they were suddenly gone without a trace. …That's kind of weird, now that I think about it."

Ishmael looked away, feeling ashamed. He knew _exactly_ what was going on. So why was he keeping it a secret?

After checking out the coops for hours, the gang returned to their hotel for dinner. Robin decided to sit alone at a table in the lounge of the hotel, hardly touching his plate of breaded chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. He had been quiet all day, like he was giving up on life. None of the letters had helped give them ideas on what was happening directly on the coast. There was no way the others would want to go to every town that had the pigeons just for some measly information that may not even be helpful at all. Robin didn't want to waste anymore time or burden the soldiers and his friends for a hunch.

"Excuse me, sir?" Hearing the woman's voice, Robin looked over his shoulder and saw a thin woman standing with a cup of tea in her hand. "May I sit?"

Robin blinked a few times at her, feeling something strange about her. He felt compelled to let her join him. "You may."

Smiling, the woman sat down and then sipped her tea. "I saw you at the coops today. Are you looking for someone important?"

Although the two just met each other, Robin felt safe around her and felt the need to talk to someone new for once.

"Yes, I was. And we were trying to find out information about the coast. We're trying to figure out why I feel the need to go there."

The woman smiled warmly. "I might be able to help you."

Robin quickly perked up, his heart beating faster. "What can you tell me?"

The woman drank more of her tea before answering. "Well, for starters, no one lives very close to the ocean anymore. It is very dangerous at a certain point. Only fools would reach the shore."

"Why?"

"Because that is where the beginning of the more deadly fighting is. You think it is bad over on the other side of the country? Well it is much, _much _worse on this side. If you visit another of the towns with the carrier pigeons, you will find letters that explain what sort of violence resides there. Many people have died and were left forgotten on the beaches."

Robin thought about this new information for a couple of minutes before he asked his next question. "Is there anything _beyond _the shore? Is there a way to reach Europe from there?"

The woman nodded. "Oh yes, there are a few passages that get you over the ocean to the other coast. They all go to different locations, which includes countries, like Britain. They are clearly marked with signs."

Robin's eyes had widened at the thought of boats that would take people to Europe. "Does one passage lead straight to Ireland?"

The woman quickly looked concerned. "You do not want to go there."

Robin frowned. "Why not?"

"That is where the war is the worst! Ever since that meteor crashed into the Earth, people have been driven mad!"

That definitely didn't sound very good. Robin couldn't help but swallow in nervousness. "Why are they driven mad? What possesses them to want to fight and kill each other?"

The woman seemed to be losing her sense of composure. "No one knows; that's the mystery of the thing. Meteors don't do anything but travel through space, but ever since this particular meteor landed here, people have gone mad. There is something far more sinister happening here, my dear boy."

A determined look appeared on Robin's face from this new discovery. "My friends and I need to get to Ireland. Can you tell me where the passage is located?"

The woman shook her head frantically. "I would not advise it, my dear. It is not safe for a young boy like yourself to go to the final battlefield. It is far too dangerous. I don't want you to go."

Robin was slowly becoming angry. "But I have to!"

"No, no, you are far better off waiting until everyone has murdered each other in that dreadful place. If you go there, your destiny will only end in pain, suffering, and death. War is not worth dying over."

Gritting his teeth, Robin quickly got to his feet, glaring down at the woman. "I already have suffered enough! I can handle a little more! Now tell me how to get to Ireland!" Before the woman could answer, Slade had appeared, grabbing Robin's arm tightly. Robin jumped in surprise when the man started pulling him away from the table. "Let go of me! I have to find out how to get to this meteor!"

"Not when you're acting like a child you're not," Slade snapped.

"That woman knows stuff! I have to get her to tell me about Ireland and how to fucking get there! Now get your damn hands off me!"

Reaching his table, Slade shoved Robin into a chair and then grabbed his shoulders tight. "Robin, if I have learned anything from this damned to all Hell adventure is that you cannot rely on _anyone _but yourself," he whispered harshly.

Robin glared at him. "Just give me some time and I can-"

Slade leaned closer to his face and squeezed his shoulders tighter to seem more intimidating. "Robin, she is not going to help you. She would rather have everyone commit mass genocide on themselves than to let you go to Ireland. Now _drop it_."

Rather than release him, Slade just stared hard at Robin until the teen told him he would listen to him. Instead, Robin stared determinedly back, not willing to give up so easily.

"I at least have to try…"

Everyone was silent around them. Slade and Robin continued to stare angrily at each other for a while. Soon, Slade stood up straight while releasing Robin's shoulders and then turned to the left. He moved away a few feet before glancing back.

"You rely on people too much, Robin. And someday, that is going to get you _killed_."

Looking away, Slade continued on his way. Robin glared after him, completely disagreeing with him. Getting back up, he headed back for his table to talk to the woman again, but she was gone. Robin glanced around quickly, in case she was still in the dining hall, but she wasn't. Sighing heavily, Robin sat back down and finally started on eating his dinner.

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, the group headed for the coast, refreshed and ready to continue on with their treacherous journey. If they couldn't reach the shore before it got too dark, they would stop and rest at the next town, if they made it there.<p>

Slade and Robin decided to stay separated from each other because of last night at dinner. Slade conversed fighting strategies with the soldiers while Robin stayed with King, Red, and Ishmael in the lead. Everyone could tell Slade and Robin weren't on speaking terms again, so they all had mentally decided to keep them apart for the next few days.

"What do you think these passages to Europe will be?" King asked.

"Boats, probably," Red suggested.

Robin glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. "We'll know what it is once we get there."

The rest of the day was spent silent. By nightfall, they had to set up camp in the forest. Robin sat away from everyone else, just to clear his head before bed. He rested against a boulder, his knees lifted while he let his forearms rest on top. His eyes were half open due to tiredness and depression. The closer they got to their destination, the worse the feeling became.

"So, when are you going to tell him you're sorry?"

Slade jerked his gaze away from the fire to look at Red, glaring at him. "I am not going to apologize for speaking the truth. No one will willingly help us, especially not with how close to the _real_ battlefield is. People are going to try to _kill us _as soon as they see us."

Red snorted, standing up. "I meant to apologize to him for being a dick about it, asshole."

Red walked away as Slade glared after him. He joined Robin to talk to him about their plan once they reached the shore. Half an hour went by before King came to their campsite, carrying a few dead rabbits that were meant for dinner. He sat down next to Slade, dropping the rabbits to the ground in front of him. Slade watched him skin the fur off to pass the time. Meanwhile, Robin finished his conversation with Red and then decided to take a walk, to try and clear his head faster. By ten minutes, he felt better, but he kept going further ahead, just to be alone without any human distraction. It was getting very dark now due to the trees getting thicker. Robin was about ready to go back, before he lost his entire vision, but something up ahead caught his attention. Blinking at what seemed to be a bright, white light, he decided to check it out.

The white light was the full moon shining bright in the star-lit sky down at a clearing. As Robin entered it, his entire body was illuminated by its beauty. Stopping in the center and looking up, he closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh air deeply. An eerie calmness quickly washed over him from all the different smells and the feeling of cold air filling his lungs and the bathing light. Robin thought about absolutely nothing as he continued to stand motionless under it.

"I'm sorry."

Eyes snapping open in surprise, Robin lowered his head and looked over his shoulder. Slade stood a few feet away, staring solemnly at the ground. Blinking, Robin turned around to face him fully.

"You know, despite everything you have ever done to me, I am still here," he stated. Slade looked up, unsure of why Robin was telling him this. His face was blank and calm. "Do you know why?" Slade didn't reply. "It's because I made a promise to Bruce to keep on fighting and to stay by your side until things changed or we died. Despite how much of a moron Bruce was, he was right in choosing you to protect me. Because you are the only one who can. Not King, not Ishmael, you." There was a pause. Robin soon moved closer to Slade. "Because of the promise I made, I would follow you to Hell and back." Robin stopped directly in front of Slade. They were almost the same height, which neither had noticed since they had been traveling together. Robin really had grown in just a year, and not just physically either. "Until the day this war is finally over, I will _never _leave your side. Because _that _is what true loyalty and reliance on someone is."

A breeze began to pick up around them. Slade and Robin stared silently, unmoving and unblinking, at each other for a while. Slowly lifting his right hand to his face, Slade ran the back of his fingers softly across Robin's cheek before brushing bangs off his forehead. Robin closed his eyes, tears springing to the corners. Lifting his other hand, Slade grabbed his face in both and then leaned in towards his mouth. Lifting himself up a little more, Robin pressed their lips together firmly. His hands moved to the man's shoulders, to hold onto him better as they kissed. After a few strong ones, Slade moved his hands to Robin's hips and pulled him closer.

"Make…l-love to…m-me…" Robin pleaded between each kiss.

Slade quickly pressed their mouths hard together in a long, loving kiss, as if to answer yes to Robin's plea. Grabbing the back of his head, Slade forced their mouths even harder together, kissing passionately. As they got more heated, Robin rushed to get Slade's belt off and his jeans undone. His hands were shaking as he tried so desperately to get the sexual relief he needed from the man. Robin soon pushed his jeans and boxers off his hips, exposing Slade's pale ass and limp cock in between his legs. Slade soon ended the kiss when Robin began to lose breath and looked down to see him trying to get his own belt off. They both breathed heavily as they continued to get ready.

Sitting on the ground with their clothes still on, Robin was sitting in Slade's lap, facing him with his legs on either side of him. He had his arms wrapped around the man's neck, his right hand gripping the back of his head as he was lifted up and down on Slade's erection. Robin's eyes were closed and he panted heavily into the air. Slade had his hands resting on Robin's lower back as he helped lift him, while bucking his hips with each thrust.

"Ah, ah, ah, AH…AHHN, AH, AH, HAAA!" Robin felt so much passion, so much heat, in his body that he could hardly stand it. His panting and moaning continued to get heavier and louder the sooner Slade was to his release. Quickly grabbing around his middle, Slade lifted Robin higher in order to kiss him passionately again. Robin began to use his knees to lift himself up and down faster and harder while staring down at Slade's face with eyes closed. When his prostate was hit, he cried out before ending it in a satisfying moan. As he pulled his head away in order to breathe, Slade licked his throat, breathing hot air on his already sweating skin. "AAH, AAH, AH SLADE!"

Slade passionately kissed the front of his neck, holding Robin's body tighter as he thrust faster and harder into him. Robin had a tight hold with his arms around Slade's shoulders. Jerkily moving his hands to the man's neck, Robin lifted his face to kiss him hard again. Slade's hands were now covering the middle of his back, moving them up with each thrust. Robin ended the kiss a few seconds later, panting into the air and never wanting this night to end. He didn't think about any of his friends, dead or alive, his parents, Bruce, or Alfred, nor did he care about the people senselessly killing themselves over God knows what. All that mattered was Slade and the amazing feeling he created in him. No one else mattered but the two of them in their passion, heat, and love.

'_One day, everything will change. Everything will change for the better. I can feel it. I feel every second of it. Soon, my burden will no longer exist, so long as I'm with you. This I promise you.'_

That was Robin's last thought before he passed out upon Slade's delicious release.


	16. A New World Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

The next morning at ten, the traveling company left the not-so-helpful town to their next destination: the coast. Robin felt a sense of apprehension at the thought of what they would find on the beach. The mysterious woman's words were still heavy on his mind.

Lagging behind, Ishmael was staring at the ground as he walked, his eyes narrowed in exhaustion, even though he didn't feel such human fatigue. Emotional pain was spread all the way through him ever since they were at the pigeon coops. He so desperately wanted to tell Robin what was heavy on his mind, but knew it was not the right time to do so. Robin was too infatuated on reaching Europe to help end the war that very well could kill him. If the young man stopped now due to Ishmael's information, then the entire world would perish.

Ishmael suddenly walked into someone. Stepping back, he looked up and saw Red staring down in concern at him.

"Are you okay?"

Ishmael glanced past him to see Robin in the lead, hoping he was far enough out of earshot. Looking up at Red, he shook his head, channeling his thoughts only to him as he spoke.

_"There is something I must tell Robin, but it would put an end to our goal if I tell him now."_

Red glanced back and saw that they were getting far behind. Looking back at Ishmael, he placed his hand on his head and then pulled him forward as he faced the opposite way.

"On thief's honor, I will not tell Robin if you tell me what your secret is."

Nodding, Ishmael walked next to him as they continued following the others, telling Red what he needed to know. For several hours, no one spoke much. Some of the soldiers had opted to stay at the town and go to other ones before hopefully meeting them in Europe, assuming they could get there. They were going to try contacting family and friends that may still be alive or in the surrounding havens.

By four o'clock, it was a lot colder than they had experienced so far. There was a lot more wind as well. That could mean only one thing: they were close to the ocean. Not only did Robin feel relieved that they were closer to their final destination, but also discouraged and apprehensive. He still wish he knew why since he seemed to be the only one who suffered from it. Unless… Robin looked back at everyone since he was in the lead.

"Am I the only one who feels…apprehensive, as well as ready for anything?" Everyone glanced around each other and then nodded. Slade thought about it for a second before nodding in agreement. Looking back ahead, Robin walked a little faster. "I'm glad I'm not the only one then…"

At least Robin wasn't alone in this. He was somewhat amazed that these men kept following him despite feeling the same way he did. It just showed how strong they all were to not give up so easily, no matter how grim things looked or became. Soon the smell of heavy salt water and sand reached their noses. Gradually they were getting closer and closer, but to what? What would they find when they left the safety of the trees and found the beach?

After another forty minutes, the trees began to thin out and it got colder and windier. Everyone seemed to slow down, like they didn't want to reach the end. Robin suddenly stopped, feeling a sense of foreboding pass through him. Everyone stopped behind him, Slade standing on his left. He stepped up to his side and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Only you can lead us to the end, Robin. Together, we can face against whatever is waiting for us."

Swallowing, Robin nodded, trying to put on a brave face, but only half succeeding. Everyone waited patiently for him to take the next step, but could he really do it alone?

_You are never alone._

Closing his eyes, Robin inhaled deeply for four seconds, held it in for five, and released it for six. He opened his eyes back up and took the first step into a new, dark and cold world of death, destruction, and decay.

* * *

><p>What seemed like hours later, Robin and the gang were finally so close to the beach that they could hear the waves. It was saltier smelling and tasting the closer to the last few trees they reached. Robin almost expected a bunch of hostile people to attack them at any second or turn, but none came. Soon, there was a new scent that was washed away from the smell of the beach and ocean. Up ahead on the ground, everyone saw something dark and dried up, but it wasn't the color of sand or dirt. Putting on a braver and more confident face, Robin picked up his pace, knowing they had to find out what it was sooner than later.<p>

Far behind, Ishmael looked more discouraged than ever. He knew exactly what they were going to find. He had felt it well over an hour ago and had caught glimpses of the beach in his mind. He kept squeezing Red's hand tight, who was just as discouraged, especially after what Ishmael had told him. It was killing him to keep it a secret, but he had promised so he was stuck.

Robin stopped right behind the dark matter on the ground, which was half dirt and half sand. He knew exactly what it was just by glancing at it: dried up blood and human guts. Swallowing hard, he walked around it and continued. The waves were louder and could faintly be seen. Still the group trudged on in dead silence, more apprehensive than ever. Before they left the safety of the trees, Robin inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as he walked out. He slowly re-opened them), dread and sympathy filling him at what he saw.

There were dead bodies all over the place. Blood and bits of flesh stained the beach. There were several discarded weapons around the bodies, some even inside them. Everyone was shocked at the deathly scene before them. Emotional pain filled Robin as he saw how many, possibly innocent, people had died by other humans, all because of an unknown object in Ireland. Closing his eyes and shaking his head hard, he lifted his head a little higher and looked past the carnage. Not far away was the ocean, hitting the beach and leaving dark wet sand behind. There were a lot of bodies close to the water, so the edge was red and slimy and bubbly.

Some of the soldiers walked off to see if there were any survivors or items they could salvage, pain filling their own hearts. Behind Robin, Slade stared worriedly at him, hoping he was going to be alright. Behind them, Ishmael was kneeling beside each person he got close to, saying a small prayer that they would find peace in the afterlife. He was actually crying for these people, even though he didn't know them personally. Knowing why these men and women had died made him feel a thousand times worse, and only Red knew the truth. Ishmael wanted so desperately to tell Robin, but they still had a long way to go.

King, meanwhile, was staring at the ocean, noticing something off in the distance. Although he couldn't see Europe, he knew it was there, just waiting forbiddingly for their arrival. Ignoring everyone, he continued past the dead bodies, wishing them peace as he passed. He reached the edge of the sand that was the darkest and found a fairly empty place to sit down and watch the waves with half-open eyes. Thoughts ran rampant through his mind as he considered their situation at hand.

Robin stopped dead center in between thirty or so people, staring sadly at them. If only they had gotten there sooner, maybe he could have convinced them to stop fighting. But, deep down, he knew it would not have worked. In fact, they all would probably be dead too if they arrived any sooner. Silent tears fell down his face at his uselessness for helping these people. Why was the world so cruel?

"I-Ishmael?"

Sniffing, Ishmael stood up from another body and looked at Robin's back. _"Yes?"_

Slowly turning, Robin wiped harshly at his eyes. "Could you…make a grave?"

"…_I can do that."_

Sniffing while nodding, Robin turned back around and saw Slade standing near a body, his eyes lowered in shame. To think at one time, he was fine with such devastation. But, now… Now it all felt wrong.

While Ishmael spoke to open up the earth with his powers, Robin walked up behind Slade and stepped to his left side. The man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Looking sideways at his arm, Robin slowly reached over and grabbed his hand. Slade stared down at him in despair. Sniffing, Robin wrapped his arms around Slade's arm and leaned up against him, holding him tight as he cried. A bloody tear fell down Slade's cheek a few seconds later as his strong mind suddenly shut down. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth tight, he let it all spill out, heavy tears falling down his face. Slade quickly wrapped Robin up in his arms, sobbing.

"I-I'm so sorry…"

Robin quickly wrapped his arms around him, burying his face hard into his chest. They held onto each other for a very long time, just needing to let all of it out. Everyone was now crying in despair, wishing they had never come to this deadly place at all. If it was this bad here, then how much was Europe suffering?

It took nearly twenty minutes for everyone to calm down enough. Ishmael had created several giant holes and was carefully lifting and laying people inside with his powers. The soldiers and Red were gently laying people inside holes too. Sniffing in hard, Slade lifted his hands to his face and wiped the drying tears and blood off his face. The last time he had cried like this was when he thought he was dying after being shot hundreds of times many years ago during a mercenary job. That was when he had discovered that he was immortal and would never die, no matter how injured or old he became.

Slade ran his hand through Robin's hair. The teen had stopped crying minutes ago, but he still felt hopeless and useless. He was about to look up at Slade when the man was shoved away and the teen's arms were grabbed firmly. Robin's eyes widened when he saw King looking very angry down at him. He gripped Robin's arms tight, hurting him as rage filled him.

"I have been holding my feelings back for far too long! Do you know how many times I have wanted to shoot you in the head to die instantly?! DO YOU?!"

Tears welled up in Robin's eyes again. "Y-You what-?"

King shook Robin's arms hard once. "You are too good, too naïve, Robin! I can't let you keep going forward because of guilt! You feel hopeless now?! Well how much more hopeless will you feel when we reach Ireland?! You think you'll be able to handle it, but you can't! You're just a _kid_, Robin! I can't lose you like I lost my only child! I can't stand by and let you go through with this! We have to stop! I can't-there's just not-we-!" Closing his eyes tight as he continued to cry, King became weak in the knees and he gradually fell, his hands sliding down Robin's arms. Robin stared down at him in emotional agony. "Don't go, Robin! Please don't go! Don't go…"

Trailing off, King pressed his head to Robin's stomach, gripping his elbows tight to stay upright on his knees. Closing his eyes, the teen lifted his forearms and gripped King's arms reassuringly.

"I have to…"

Everything was silent except for the waves and the harsh wind. No one could look at each other. After a while of no one moving, Ishmael closed his eyes, lifted his hands palm up beside him, and whispered an incantation. All at once, the graves closed up, leaving no trace of the once deadly battle behind. Ishmael prayed one final time before joining Slade, Robin, and King, who looked drained and tired. He stood beside Robin, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"_We must keep going. The sooner we reach our destination, the sooner we can fulfill your destiny."_

Robin was running his hand through King's hair, comforting him. He then looked at Ishmael, nodding. "I'm ready." Looking back down at King, Robin freed his elbows, grabbed under King's face, and lifted his head, staring caringly at his anguished face. "Please, come with me. I need you." King's wet eyes slowly widened. Robin smiled weakly at him. "The _world_, needs you."

They stared at each other in dead silence for a long time. Sniffing, King lowered his head slightly as he tried to stand. Robin stepped back, wiping his face dry with his hands. King smacked the sand off his knees, stood up straight and tall, and inhaled deeply.

"I will stand by you until the end of time."

Robin smiled a little stronger. "And I, you."

Nodding, King turned around and returned to his backpack. No one followed for a while. "…Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kick this war's stupid ass, shall we?"

Inside everyone, a surge of energy and determination filled every fiber of their beings. Everyone soon followed King towards the ocean, where their next hurdle of their twisted adventure awaited them with wide open arms.


	17. A New World Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

Once the group was fifty yards away from the battlefield, the air had calmed down for the most part. Every great once in a while they found discarded weapons or bits and pieces of humans, but there weren't any full bodies left. They probably had been eaten by wild animals over time. They stayed right alongside the ocean waves, waiting in anticipation for their ticket across the water and to Europe.

"Before, I had seen something far in the distance, stretching on into the horizon," King explained. "Something tells me that is what we want to find."

And so they walked, and walked, and walked some more, trying to locate this unknown object. Red was getting irritated the longer they traveled. Everyone's feet were hurting and their shoes or boots were full of wet and dry sand. It felt as if they had been traveling the beach for days.

"I'm really sorry, but can I vent for a moment?" Red asked.

"Make it quick," Slade grumbled.

"Okay, here it goes." Inhaling deeply for five seconds, Red let out a loud, frustrated scream that echoed all the way towards the horizon. Everyone had to slam their hands over their ears. After seven seconds, Red stopped, panting. "That's better!"

Growling, Slade punched him hard in the back of the head. "Never do that again, you little shit!"

Red rubbed angrily at the pain in the back of his head, glaring at Slade. "Hey, I warned you I had to vent."

"I thought you meant rambling on like a moron, not screaming!"

"Well it sure as hell made me feel better!"

Up ahead in the lead, Robin rolled his eyes while shaking his head. Ishmael was to his right several feet away, sticking close to the waves. Being barefoot all the time, he splashed through the salt water, which helped keep his feet from hurting like everyone else's. Red and Slade kept arguing about the thief's choice of venting methods for a while, both of them wanting to be the last one to speak their mind. Glancing back over his shoulder, Robin glared at them.

"Guys, can we not-"

"I now know that we never should have allowed you to come with us!"

"Oh that's _real _nice! So you would have rather left me behind to starve to death?! Yeah, I love you too, jackass!"

"Why you little-!"

"_HEY_!" Slade and Red froze, Slade holding onto his shirt with his right hand while the thief had a punch aimed for his face. They slowly looked over and saw Robin standing ten feet away, glaring at them. Beside him was a beautiful sight to be hold. "We're finally here."

Letting go of his shirt and shoving him away, Slade caught up to Robin and they both turned to see a white bridge that was five feet above the crashing waves, making its way to the horizon. Next to the ramp in the sand was a sign that read "Ireland and Scotland Bridge". It was actually quite remarkable that a bridge spanning across the entire ocean had been built here at all. Who made it, when was it made, how long did it take to make, and did it reach all the way to the other mainland?

"What do you think?" Slade asked Robin quietly. The rest of their group stopped a few feet away, staring at it in awe, minus Ishmael. No, he looked even more upset than earlier that day. "Should we attempt crossing? There's no telling if it reaches the end."

Sighing, Robin hoisted his backpack higher onto his shoulders and stepped up onto the ramp of the bridge. "We've come this far, haven't we?"

Slade came up behind him. "We have."

"And we know that the final battlefield is all the way over there, whether the bridge makes it all the way."

"That we do."

Stopping, Robin turned back, staring at everyone that was still on the beach. The bridge vibrated gently due to the waves underneath. "This is your last chance to turn around and go back to the small towns along this coast! It is either Ireland or Bust!" Everyone but Slade, Robin, and Ishmael looked back and forth between each other, thinking what each one of them would do. In the end, they all looked at Robin and nodded. With his own curt nod, he turned back around, took a deep breath, and then continued. Slade glanced back at everyone, especially Red for a moment, before following Robin. "I just hope we all make it there in one piece."

Wrapping an arm around Robin's shoulders, Slade held him against his side as they walked. "I will be with you every step of the way."

"I know. Thanks."

With everyone silent, they made their way across the long, never ending bridge, hoping beyond hope that it reached to the very end.

* * *

><p>Seven days had gone by since Robin and the gang found the bridge. Besides the sign at the start of the bridge all those days ago, there were no markers to indicate how far from the other side they were, or signs of merchant stalls, nothing. It was just an endless straight line of salt water, salty air, and warm sunshine up above them. They had taken food intake precautions, to make sure they didn't run out of food before they reached Ireland. Luckily only one of the members didn't need food except very rarely, so they were salvaging enough for now.<p>

Despite the changing tides, ocean water never splashed up onto the bridge to soak them. There had been mist, but that was it. The only thing that could cause them problems was hunger, thirst, or a storm at sea. Anyone that believed in God or a god prayed twice a day to not deal with those three things.

At four, it was much hotter and most needed a short break. Robin decided to scour ahead, just in case he found people, merchant stalls, or anything of value. At the moment, he was enjoying just the sound of the waves and the air whipping through his hair. With how restless he kept getting every day, it was great being alone. He didn't have to worry about anyone.

Once an hour past, Robin stopped and turned back, suddenly feeling _really _alone. When he couldn't see anyone, worry began to fill him. Had a complete hour gone by and _no one_ moved from the place he left them at? Why hadn't anyone thought to go looking for him? Robin sighed, realizing he was freaking out too quickly. Maybe if he waited ten minutes, _someone_ would show up. So, taking his backpack off to give his shoulders and arms a break, he sat down, lifted his knees, and placed his arms on them, holding his hands down in front of him, as he waited.

Ten minutes went by fast. Then it hit fifteen. Then twenty-five. When another hour was up, Robin was getting peeved. Was his party still at the last place he had been? Dropping his head, Robin sighed heavily, dreading the thought of getting up and going backwards to find his group. But he stood up, grabbed his backpack, and slung it over his shoulders anyway, heading back. He only walked a few minutes before he saw something or someone emerging. Then, two other things were coming for him. _Really _hoping it was his friends, he walked briskly towards the figures.

Sure enough, Slade was in the lead, rubbing the back of his head up and down as they got closer. Robin stopped fifty feet away to let them catch up.

"I was gone for two hours. I was worried you were still in the place I left you."

Stopping in front of him, Slade shook his head. "No, thirty minutes after you had left, we kept going." The rest of their group caught up, stopping. "You were walking pretty fast."

"Good, because I was worried I had to lose all this progress I made by going back."

Slade smiled softly, running his hand through his hair. "We would never make you do that."

Robin smiled back before Slade turned to the side so he could address his men. "Okay, I feel like we're making some progress. If you want to go back, I won't stop you. So, are we ready?"

"Yeah."

"Yes sir!"

Robin's eyes widened in surprise when the soldiers yelled out like that. His mouth slowly fell open, unable to believe it. Pressing his lips back together after a few seconds, he turned around and continued down their long path, tears forming in his eyes. Slade, Ishmael, and King all felt how he was feeling about being called sir. It made it feel like he actually had a purpose in life. From the first day he formed his team until today, he had been a leader. And that brought the best smile he had ever had to his face…

* * *

><p>By the third week, everyone was more and more tired by the minute. They still had been the only life forms trekking down that bridge. There were no landmarks, still no signs or markers, and they were running low on food. Every day their journey was becoming more and more hopeless, no matter how much progress they made.<p>

At some point the next day, one of the soldiers collapsed due to overheating. Ishmael rushed to the man, placing his hands on his body and muttering a healing spell. When he was healed enough to get up and keep going, he was given a canteen of water to keep him hydrated. Robin sighed at how slow they had been going all day.

"They're just tired, Robin. Being out in the open like this makes us ten times more vulnerable."

Robin glanced at Slade out of the corner of his eye. "I know that, but I'm still frustrated."

Slade squeezed his shoulder. "They're doing the best they can…"

Robin looked away, looking at the bridge with narrowed eyes. His feelings of worry, hopelessness, and sense of danger kept getting stronger the more milestones they passed through. He had tried to keep a mental estimate on how many miles they traveled during these three long weeks, but had given up a week ago. There was absolutely no way they could figure out how much further they had to travel to reach Ireland's coast.

"When this is _all _over, I'm thinking of becoming an alcoholic who has a ton of cats," Robin suddenly said, more out of boredom than anything else two hours later.

Slade snorted. "Fine, if you become the alcoholic, I will be the drug addict, who has to take care of your drunk ass all the time."

"Just don't smoke in the house or leave drugs around for the kitties to find, because they'll eat that shit right up."

Behind them, Red stared at them with a raised eyebrow. "Are you _seriously _discussing your shitty futures _now_?"

Robin looked back. "Yeah, so?"

"They're depressing!"

"I've grown accustomed to it."

Red sulked. "Well I haven't…"

Robin chuckled before looking back ahead. "We're just having fun. This bridge is boring as hell. And I could use a drink."

Red shook his head in disappointment as Robin laughed. "Weirdo."

They were silent for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>One day, far into the future, a miraculous thing happened. Robin and the gang were walking in absolute silence, having lost two of their soldiers due to hunger and heat prostration three days before, when they heard a splash twenty or so yards away. Everyone stopped to listen, in case it happened again. Ten seconds later, there was another splash. Ishmael smiled weakly after so long of feeling despair.<p>

"_We found dolphins."_

"Come on, we'll watch them for a while," Robin said calmly.

They walked further on, hearing the splashing get louder and louder. Minutes later and they found not only dolphins, but also some whales that surfaced to blow water from their blow holes. Setting their packs aside and going to the rail, the group watched the marine mammals swim and jump around into the air. Being super short in his usual form, Ishmael stepped up onto the lower rail and wrapped his arms around the top rail. Everyone watched the dolphins and whales have fun for a long time, some getting super close when they realized humans were watching them. One silver and purple-ish dolphin swam up, turned so that he faced the bridge, and then used his tail to jerk back and trill as he performed his trick.

Hanging out with the dolphins and whales had been a great experience for everyone. For the first time in over a year, they were happy and forgot about the damn war. They soon left, leaving the traveler's alone again. Once they were out of sight, Robin lowered his head and felt a pang of sadness wash over him. The deaths of the two soldiers suddenly hit him hard and he silently cried. Coming up to his side, Ishmael grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"_They did not die in vain, Robin. Remember that."_

Robin glanced down at him, eyes almost closed. "I remember everything."

Pulling his hand away, Robin slung his backpack over his shoulders and continued walking, feeling very bitter now. Ishmael stared after him in concern. Soon, everyone else started to follow Robin, wondering what their next milestone was going to entail.

* * *

><p>Well, this was definitely a huge problem. Robin glared at the end of the line. The bridge had ended and there wasn't anything remotely close to it that resembled a passageway or land. Growling in anger, he threw his pack down, turned around, and shoved past everyone. They turned to watch him go.<p>

"Where-?"

"Fucking fuck off!"

Slade's eyes narrowed, knowing how frustrated Robin was feeling right now. Red stood next to him, looking disheartened.

"What are we supposed to do now? We can't go back, otherwise we'd die before we reached America."

Slade relinquished a soft sigh. "I don't know…"

Meanwhile, almost a mile away, Robin stopped and started to pace, getting angrier by the second. After all that traveling, after all the bullshit and death of two brave human beings, their trail ran cold?! What the hell were they supposed to do now?!

Stopping, Robin looked up, growling in anger. "What am I supposed to do now, huh?! You fucking put me on this stupid mission, how am I supposed to finish it?! You stupid imaginary piece of shit! No wonder people have given up! You get to sit all the way up there, on your ugly ass pearl throne, watching all of us suffer! How the fuck do you even live with yourself, huh?! Oh yeah, that's right, BECAUSE YOU DON'T FUCKING_EXIST_! There is no almighty motherfucking God! There never _was_! Goddamn asshole!"

For a good five minutes, Robin ranted and raved at the invisible all-powerful man up in the sky that billions of mindless, brainwashed people had foolishly believed existed. Well, joke was on them apparently!

"God! _Fuck_! This was not how it's supposed to _fucking_, _END_!"

Turning to the rail, Robin kicked it as hard as he could, feeling it shudder violently afterward. His eyes suddenly widened when it broke off, tumbling into the ocean. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard creaking and groaning all around him. His face turned completely pale and his mouth started to fall open when he heard steel cables and railings start to snap. Screaming, Robin turned and tried to run to the next segment of the bridge, but it gave way, the cables giving off a loud twanging sound as they broke in half. Robin plummeted into the water, floor, railings, and all.

Robin floated down under the water, hearing nothing but the pressure in his ears. He had a defeated look on his face, like he figured he may as well just die here and tell the entire world to go fuck itself. Exhaling out of his nose, causing bubbles to rupture up to and above the surface, Robin closed his tired eyes and allowed the current to take him under. If this was the way he was supposed to die, then so be it.

Not too far away, even though it sounded muffled to Robin's ears, there was a loud splash and the sound of a body going under the water. Someone was swimming towards him as fast as they could. Bubbles slowly moved past his head as Robin lay floating in that deep, dark blue, just feeling himself drift off. Slowly, his mouth began to open and he couldn't hold his pathetic breath in anymore. Water rushed into his mouth and down his throat, but he was so done with caring that he didn't feel like he was drowning. He had accepted his fate, and no one would be none the wiser.

As Robin kept falling further and further into the depths, the light falling farther and farther away, someone swam under him, kicked their legs to right themselves, and then grabbed a hold of him under his arms, swimming by kicking their legs as fast and hard as they could. Once closer to the light, it turned out to be Slade, who had followed Robin at a distance after the teen stalked off in a fit of rage. Slade had stopped a hundred feet from him when he yelled and cursed God for all their suffering and bullshit. As soon as the segment of bridge Robin was on had broken away and he plummeted, Slade had removed everything but his boxers and dove in after him.

They soon reached the surface, Slade gasping in air before breathing heavily a few times. Water dripped off the ends of his hair and traveled down his face as he swam for the bridge, holding Robin to the side so he could use one arm and both legs to move. Reaching up for a piece of steel that had stayed attached to the bridge, Slade took a firm hold and used all his body strength to lift Robin and himself out of the water. The teen's eyes were closed and his mouth was hanging open, not breathing since water was in his lungs. Growling when the strain nearly tore his arm out of his socket, Slade threw Robin's limp body back on the bridge, grabbed the rail close-by, and hoisted himself up out of the water.

Quickly, Slade laid Robin flat on his back, opened his mouth and plugged his nose, and leaned down to force air into his body. He did this three times before doing chest compressions eight times. When nothing changed, he breathed air into Robin's lungs and tried chest compressions again.

"C-Come on…" Slade did mouth-to-mouth a third time, breathing a little harder. Robin still didn't move or open his eyes. Gritting his teeth, Slade punched his sternum with the bottom of his fist, despite knowing this wasn't really a good idea, but it worked. Eyes shooting open, Robin coughed up salt water. Slade helped him roll onto his side so that it came out properly, rather than go into his nose or back in his mouth. He patted Robin's back to help him get rid of the water faster. "Thank God you're alright!"

Growling, Robin somehow managed to shove Slade away. The man crashed onto his back, stunned. Sitting down and scooting back, Robin growled in anger at him.

"Don't say that! Don't you _ever_ fucking say that!" Slade started to sit up. "There is no fucking God! If he existed this world would have never gotten like this! The world has been lying to themselves their whole fucking lives! There is no God and I don't want to fucking hear it!" Slade was staring at Robin in shock. "I wanted to die Slade! I can't do this fucking shit anymore! I'm done trying; I'm done fighting for something that'll never change! I can't keep living like this! It's over, it's done! The world doesn't need saving anymore, it needs to destroy itself! Everyone thinks I can do all of this shit Slade, but I can't! I can't anymore!" Closing his eyes tight and lowering his head, Robin sobbed and cried. "I-It's over! There's nothing left! There's _NOTHING_!"

For the next several minutes Robin sobbed and cried, tears streaming heavily down his face. He had his face in his hands, yelling and screaming about how nothing will ever get better or change, while Slade just stared, waiting for him to calm down enough to try and talk to him again. Soon, all was quiet except for the quiet splishing sound of the waves below them. Slade waited another second before exhaling out of his nose.

"Robin."

Shooting his head up, Robin glared and growled at him, tears still falling. "WHAT?!"

"…There's a boat."

Anguish and despair was quickly replaced by confusion.

"A-A boat?"

"Yes."

Robin blinked wide eyed at him. "What boat?"

Slade couldn't help by smile softly at him, somewhat amused despite how upset Robin was. "At the end of the bridge."

Robin was still super shocked to really understand what Slade was telling him. "There's…a boat…? At the end of the bridge…?"

Slade gave a nod, trying not to laugh. "Yes, Robin, it takes people to shore at the end of the unfinished bridge."

Robin's body began to tremble softly as more tears bubbled up in the corners of his eyes. Dropping his head down again, he opened his mouth to scream and sob and cry heavy and hard, feeling both upset and relieved. Quickly crawling over to him, Slade wrapped his arms around Robin and lifted them both onto their knees.

"GAAA-HAAA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Robin had no choice but to let it all out of his system. So it was still there; there was still hope. Traveling an entire month on that godforsaken, stupid bridge and losing two comrades had ended up being worth it. They still had a way to reach Ireland and to find the cause of the damn war and to stop it. Stop it, before there were no human beings left to save.


	18. A New World Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

The traveling group was halfway from the end of the bridge to the coast by late afternoon in the boat that patrolled the waters. By nightfall, around one in the morning, they would make it to the other beach.

Robin was sitting at the end of the boat with his knee on the seat, holding his chin in his hand as he stared at the horizon with narrowed eyes. Everyone's backpacks had been stored in a wide compartment set within the floor of the big boat. The soldiers were scattered around, sitting and resting while conversing with one another about anything. Ishmael was sitting next to the boat driver, a kind, older, gentle-fisherman, having a telepathic conversation with him since the man was worthy. Red was sleeping back against Ishmael's seat, snoring up a storm. Sitting on the roof that covered most of the boat, King was lying on his back, basking in the sun as he stared up at the sky. He had a lot on his mind right now, thinking about his dead family and the soldiers he had left behind in his best friend's care. Until now, he hadn't thought of Coulson at all, and he wondered how he was doing and if he was doing a good job as a great leader. King really hoped everything was alright.

At the center of the boat, Slade came from the cargo hold with a wrapped piece of hard bread and walked to the back of the boat. Sitting down next to Robin, he unwrapped the bread and then set it down next to his elbow that was propped on the edge of the boat. Robin ignored it, not hungry.

"You lost a lot of energy back on the bridge. You should eat."

"Not hungry."

"At least eat a piece of it," Slade encouraged, his face blank.

Out of his peripheral vision, Robin saw the bread unmoving despite the speed they were traveling. Sighing, he sat up straight, broke a good chunk of the bread off, and then handed the rest back.

"Thanks."

Nodding, Slade took the rest from him and wrapped it up, setting it on the seat to the right of him. Robin took a bite of the bread, practically breaking his teeth. It was extremely dry and almost stale, but Robin ate it without complaint. They sat on the seat in silence for a long time, Slade sitting with his arms folded over his chest as he had his eyes closed to rest. There was a pregnant pause before he felt something heavy land on his lap. Opening his eyes, he looked down and saw Robin laying his head on his legs, curled up on the seat as he tried to sleep. Smiling softly, Slade lowered his left hand and ran it through his hair, lulling him into a relaxed state. Robin inhaled deeply for four seconds before letting it out and becoming still.

For the next two hours, all but the rushing of the water could be heard around the boat. Red woke up a few minutes later, stretching and yawning. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a nap during the daylight hours. Standing, he stretched his entire body out, making content mewling noises. Several places all over his body popped, making him feel loosened up. Ruffling up his hair to fix it a bit when he was done, he looked around for King, but saw that he wasn't on the floor anywhere. Turning to the left, he moved towards the edge of the boat, found a ladder onto the roof, and climbed it until he could see over the edge. King was still laying up there, but he was on his side, his arms folded over his chest.

"Hey, good looking. Can I join you?" Red asked as he crawled up onto the roof.

King glanced over his shoulder at him, his face blank and tired. "Sure." Crawling over to him, Red rolled his body in order to sit down and then laid stretched out behind King. The man rolled over and scooted away a few inches to lay right against him. "How'd you sleep?"

Red looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Fine. What about you? Did you sleep?"

King shook his head as he stared up at the sky. "No, just thinking about a lot of things."

Red rolled onto his side, his head propped in his hand. "Like what?"

"This horrendous journey, my family, and my best friend."

Rolling over a little more, Red placed crossed arms on King's chest, resting his chin on them to stare at his face. "Did you have to leave them behind?"

King looked down at him, looking depressed. "My wife and child and our parents were murdered in cold blood."

Sadness and sympathy crossed Red's face. "I'm sorry."

Lifting his right arm, King draped it over Red's back, pulling him further up onto his chest and part of his stomach. "Thank you." Nodding and then reaching up, Red kissed him softly for a few seconds before laying back down. Smiling weakly, King kissed the top of his head and held him with both arms. "You are what matters now…"

Closing his eyes, Red rubbed his head into King's chest as he got more comfortable, deciding to rest some more. Meanwhile, at the back of the boat, Slade and Robin had maneuvered themselves on the boat-width seat so that they were spooning without falling off. Robin's back was pressed to the wall, curling up against Slade's front. The man had his arms wrapped around him, their eyes closed as they rested. Eventually everyone but Ishmael and the fisherman were tired enough to take naps or rest. With three soldiers sitting next to each other, the one on the left had his head on the middle one's shoulder, his arms folded over his chest. It was almost sad, knowing a terrible tragedy made them put their differences aside in order to work together and get into compromising positions like this. Until the war was over, it didn't matter if people were the same or different. They either worked together to fight opposing sides or fought each other. No one cared about anothers' religion or race or marital status, nor if they were gay or straight. All they were to one another was enemies or allies, nothing more. All that mattered was that they were _people_, messed up, dangerous, or otherwise.

By nightfall, the boat lights, interior and exterior, came on, allowing the fisherman to see where he was going. Everyone was now wide awake and back to talking amongst themselves. Red and King soon came down from the roof and talked to the fisherman about their progress.

"Everything is going smoothly," he told them. "But once we are closer to the coast, we have to be cautious. Late at night, there is some fighting going on, but it's still for the most part. But it really all depends on what kind of day the fighters are having that determines if the fighting is intense at night or not."

"Is there anything you can tell us about the war in Europe?" King asked, sitting down in Ishmael's old seat; he was currently checking up on the soldier's health.

"All I know is it's very deadly. People are dying brutally all over the place. Ireland seems to be a hot spot."

"Yes, one of our companions believes a meteor that landed there a few years ago is the cause of all this," King confirmed.

"The telepathic boy explained that to me already," the fisherman said.

As they continued to talk a while, Ishmael smiled at the last soldier, after telepathically telling him he was doing fine, before going to the back. Robin had fallen asleep on the seat while Slade was sitting at the end where the teen's feet were. He was staring to the left at the ocean as it rushed by. When he felt Ishmael staring at him, Slade turned his body to him.

"What is it, Ishmael?"

Blinking, the pseudo-boy reached forward and grabbed Slade's hand. The man stared at him in confusion, wondering what he was doing. After half a minute, Ishmael released his hand and took a step back.

"_I have deemed you worthy of my powers."_

The corner of Slade's mouth went up in a small, half smile. "Thank you."

"_You are welcome." _Turning around, Ishmael moved to the edge of the boat and stared out at the horizon. He was silent for a moment. _"__Will you promise something to me?"_

"It depends."

After staring a few more seconds, Ishmael turned back to Slade, his eyes half closed. _"__Promise you will protect Robin with your life."_

Slade blinked wide eyes in surprise. "Of course I would."

"_No matter what happens to him, no matter how different he becomes, you __**have **__to protect him," _Ishmael said somewhat sternly. _"__Because if you do not…" _Ishmael turned his gaze to Robin, looking ashamed. _"__Robin will die."_

Shock filled Slade's entire being at hearing that. "How do you know that?" he asked, fear in his voice.

Ishmael slowly looked back at him. _"__Right now, I cannot say. Red already knows but that is because he promised to keep it a secret. Robin cannot know what is to happen, otherwise he will stop fighting. The war has to stop before then. Because he is the only one who can."_

Slade continued to stare at him in shock, thinking of all the possibilities on what this could mean. Slowly, he turned his gaze to Robin, his brow furrowed in worry. Robin…could die? Closing his eyes tight, Slade forced himself not to tear up. He had to stay strong, for Robin.

"I cannot promise something so unpredictable that I cannot keep." Slade looked back at Ishmael. "But I will protect him with my life, for as long as I can."

Ishmael slowly closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. _"__That is all we can do…"_

Ishmael looked at Robin one more time before turning around and returning to the front of the boat. Slade stared at him as he sat in Red's lap for a few seconds before looking back at Robin. In his sleep, he seemed so peaceful, so safe. But inside, deep within his being, his own war was raging on and killing him. And all Slade could do was stand by and watch, as the one he loved gradually wasted away…

* * *

><p>By one o'clock, as predicted, the boat cruised close to the shore. Taking out binoculars, the fisherman looked around the beach, looking for any fighting that might be going on. He frowned when he saw a few hundred people attacking on the full length of the beach. Sighing, he put the binoculars away and stopped the boat. He also turned off the main lights, turning on soft emergency lights on the inside of the boat instead. He then stepped under the roof, addressing everyone.<p>

"Tonight seems to be especially lively. I am afraid we cannot go ashore at this time." Some of the soldiers sighed and groaned, sick of being on the semi-small boat. The fisherman stared at them in thought for a moment. "I could cruise around for a cove or empty part of the beach. There are a few rock formations that stick out into the ocean that you could climb. To be sure no one is fighting on top of one, one of you will have to assess the situation. Otherwise, you will have to sleep on the boat tonight until early morning, when it _should _settle down enough to get ashore without being fired upon. It's your choice."

After a pause, everyone turned to Robin, who stood next to Slade, his arms folded over his chest. He was staring at the floor in deep thought, trying to decide what the best course of action was at this time. Perhaps going around to look for a while would help. Robin soon looked up at the fisherman.

"Cruise around for a few hours. If we can't find something sensible, then we will wait until morning."

"Aye sir," the fisherman said as he turned back to his chair. He sat down, turned the wheel to the left six times, and then picked up speed as he straightened out. "Three hours tops."

Sighing, Robin lowered his arms, turned around, and returned to the back seat. He plopped down in irritation at the shitty luck they were having. Slade joined him soon after, draping his arm over his shoulders. Turning, Robin leaned against him while lifting his legs onto the seat. His head rested under Slade's chin, resting on his collarbone and shoulder.

"It will be over soon."

"Not soon enough."

Slade ran his hand up and down on Robin's arm quickly before firmly holding it, placing his head on the top of his skull. Everyone waited in silent anticipation for the three hours to arrive, assuming they didn't find anything by then. It was nerve-racking, knowing they were so close, yet still so far.

By the first hour, there was nothing but beach and fighting, but it was dwindling. King sat on the roof again, looking through the binoculars for any signs of an empty patch of sand or cove to hideout in. By the second hour, large and wide rock formations appeared. King looked up at the nearest one and saw nothing on top. The only problem was how far the top jutted out compared to the bottom, so it wasn't climbable. They soon passed that one, which stretched to around three hundred feet. The second one looked a lot less treacherous and there were a few guards patrolling on top: watching, waiting. Lowering the binoculars, King stood up, moved to the edge, and easily dropped down. He looked up at Robin, who was staring out the back of the boat again, seeing the first rock formation.

"Robin, there's a cliff with a few people patrolling coming up. It looks like a good place to climb."

Looking over, Robin stared at him briefly before standing up, walking over to him, and taking the binoculars. He looked at the aforementioned rock wall and gradually raised the lenses up to the top. After contemplating this idea, he lowered the binoculars, handed them back to King, and then moved to the front of the boat. He sat next to the fisherman.

"Get as close to this rock wall as you can," he said, pointing at it.

The fisherman looked up and saw a faint orange-brown glow, possibly fire, at the top. He slowed the boat down and turned on the lowest front lights, as not to alert the men and/or women on top. He examined the wall carefully, making sure it would be worth climbing. There were enough hand and footholds and rocks jutting out to work.

"I wager there's a sixty percent chance that you will make it."

Nodding, Robin turned around and moved to the middle of the boat, to address everyone. The boat slowly turned towards the cliff as he spoke.

"Before we all waste time climbing this cliff, one of us will have to take out the guards. Besides me, who is the most flexible?" No one answered, making him sigh. "Okay, I will climb up first. I will channel my thoughts to Ishmael when it is safe to follow. To make it a little easier on all of us, we might have to leave some of our equipment behind. Hopefully at some point we will be able to confiscate some powerful weapons."

"_I can use my telekinesis to lift one backpack at a time," _Ishmael offered. _"__We __**need **__those weapons."_

"Okay, we can lighten the load a little and have Ishmael carry them up the cliff. Does that sound like a plan?" The soldiers, King, and Red thought about that for a while, but in the end they agreed. The pointed nose of the boat was nearing the cliff, so the fisherman turned the wheel to align the boat with it. Needing a minute alone, Robin went to the back of the boat, thinking deeply about this almost impossible plan. It was a really dangerous plan, but they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Robin soon returned to the front of the boat. "Get anything we don't need out of the backpacks, and I need some smoke bombs and two medium-sized knives."

"Yes sir."

As everyone did their chores, Robin moved to the passenger seat of the boat and sat down as he waited for his weapons and the boat to be right beside the cliff. The boat soon came to a full stop and the fisherman looked at Robin.

"Are you sure you can handle this?"

Robin looked at him as King approached them with the weapons the teen wanted. "I used to be in the circus, so I'm used to obstacles like this. I have rock climbed without rock climbing gear several times. I'm also a lot stronger than I used to be." Stopping between the chairs, King handed two sheathed knives and a tie-at-the-top pouch full of small, round bombs. "Thanks."

Robin took the knives, stood up, and attached them to Kevlar straps on both hips before shoving the pouch into his jeans pocket. King was staring sternly at him.

"Be careful. Take the cliff nice and slow so you don't lose your strength too quickly."

Once everything was secure on his belt, Robin looked at him. "I will, thanks."

King suddenly had his arms wrapped tightly around Robin, stunning him. "We have come so far. Please don't let a stupid cliff stop you now."

Grabbing his arms, King pushed Robin back to see his grateful face. "I wouldn't have come this far if it wasn't for you."

King's eyes widened but then narrowed when he smiled encouragingly at him. "I will see you at the top."

Nodding, Robin turned around and pulled himself up onto the nose of the boat. He moved to the rock cliff and looked up, feeling his heartbeat quicken when he realized he was really going through with this. Taking a very deep breath, he took a few steps back, ran forward, and then jumped as high as he could. Grabbing onto a rock and digging his fingers into it tight, Robin pulled himself up, reaching for another hand hold. He then pressed his feet hard into the side and began his long, treacherous climb.

For the first twenty-some minutes, Robin was doing fine. He forced himself to never look down. Back down on the boat, everyone stared up at him in worry, excitement, and encouragement that he would make it to the top without any issues. But there was mostly fear since it was a sheer face and he had no climbing gear to help him if he slipped and fell. The next hour or so was going to be difficult to swallow.

Halfway up, Robin pressed his body to the cliff, closed his eyes, and panted. Although it was cool temperatures outside, he was still hot and covered in sweat. When he regained his breath and strength from a three minute break, he looked back up, trying to see if he could jump to a much higher handhold. He rethought his idea when he heard King's words in his ears.

_Be careful. Take the cliff nice and slow so you don't lose your strength too quickly._

Right, be careful. Trying to jump to a jutting rock or small hand hold had a 50/50 chance of failure and he couldn't risk that. He had to do what he had been doing this whole time. No rash movements, he kept telling himself. So, taking a deep breath, Robin reached up to a very small jutting rock and pulled himself up like he always did. He then pressed his foot hard into the rock and pushed up as he reached for the next available hand hold.

Nearly fifty minutes later, Robin was almost there. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he slowly looked over his shoulder and down towards the ocean. The boat was just a small speck now, the lights barely visible. Once his vision went out of focus, he looked back at the wall and pressed his forehead to it to calm himself. After a deep breath, he looked down at his foot as he pushed off and then looked up as he reached for another hole.

After another ten minutes, Robin reached up and grabbed the ledge. He carefully pulled himself up, looking over the rock to see what he was up against. There were six people sitting around a fire, looking dead tired. Two were standing beside each other to keep in their body heat. Lowering himself back down after ten seconds, Robin looked down at his side as he reached in his jean pocket for the pouch of bombs. He used his teeth to untie the string, held the hem of the pouch in his teeth when it was open, and reached in for a bomb. After pulling it out and it was secure in his hand, he yanked on the string to tighten the pouch hole closed, pocketed it, and then tossed the bomb up onto the cliff.

The bomb soared into the air and then came looping back down near the men. It rolled into their circle and one of the standing men looked down at it in confusion. Someone from across from him saw it too and stood up to look at it. Back on the side of the cliff, Robin frowned when nothing happened. Growling low in his throat, he pulled his head back over the ledge right as the bomb exploded. The force was tremendous, forcing the men backwards several feet. Robin barely had the time to duck, so his body fell a couple of feet and slammed into the rocks. He growled in pain.

Meanwhile, down below on the boat, Ishmael told everyone that Robin had thrown the bomb but nothing happened. Everyone looked at Red with glares, making him look back and forth between them.

"Maybe they're on a delay-" Right after he said this, the bomb exploded and they heard screams high above them. Red sweat dropped while Slade looked ready to kill him. "You know, I _thought _it was suspicious when that guy just gave them to me, heh-"

"RED I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Screaming, Red turned around as Slade stepped towards him and ran. Growling in anger, the ex-villain chased after him. They ran around the boat in a circle, a chibi!Red holding his fists up against his sternum, his fingers facing him. His feet and legs looked like tumbling beans as he ran around all the people with Slade trying to catch him.

"Waaah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Stop running so I can strangle you!"

Reaching King, Red ran around him and held onto him for protection, getting an annoyed glare from the man. When Slade didn't stop, Red screamed again as he started running around the boat again. King glared at both of them.

"Could you two stop acting like children?!"

All the soldiers smacked their foreheads and groaned at the pitiful display. Ishmael was looking off to the side, hearing Robin tell him that he had made it. He looked back up at everyone.

"_Robin made it and he is just fine."_

On the floor near the cargo hold, Slade was on top of Red, gripping his neck tight with both hands as he half strangled him, but stopped when he heard the message from Ishmael. Red had swirlies in his eyes while he held Slade's wrists, trying to pry his hands off. Glancing at him with a glare, the ex-villain shoved him back while releasing his neck and stood up and back. Red lay on his back, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. King came up to his side and crouched, shaking his head in disappointment at him.

Once everyone had a lighter backpack on their backs, they started to climb the cliff, one at a time for ten minutes before the next person followed. With his telepathic powers, Ishmael summoned a rock from a different cliff and jumped on. While the soldiers, King, Red, and Slade climbed, he followed them in a gradual pace, to make sure none of them fell to their deaths. Being the last one to follow, Slade turned to the fisherman.

"Thank you for your help."

The man gave a small nod. "It is my duty as a fisherman to help those in dire need."

Slade shook his hand before following Red up the side of the cliff. Meanwhile, on the top of the cliff, Robin decided to look around a bit, to see if there were any people or weapons lying around. In the distance, down on the beach, he heard the muffled sounds of guns and rifles going off and blades clashing, but he ignored them. Up ahead, there was a blanket of trees as far as the eye could see. Thinking that maybe there were wild animals deep inside, Robin glanced back to make sure no one was following before jogging towards the forest.

It was super dark within the trees. No stars or the moon could be seen through the thick branches. Too bad Robin didn't have a stick he could light inside the fire. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he could see only slightly. He listened intently for any strange or unwanted sounds, keeping his hand on one of the knives for protection. For ten minutes he walked alone, not finding any wild animals anywhere. He was about ready to give up and go back—before the others made it to the top of the cliff and wondered what happened to him—when some strange noise floated to him on the wind that suddenly appeared. Stopping and eyes widening, Robin heard a soft, eerie voice that made no sense to him whatsoever. His heart started beating fast in his chest. What the hell was that?

Robin took a step back, ready to turn around, when something streaked past him. Jumping in fright, he turned around, whipping out a knife and holding it up in front of his chest. The wind howled and the voice returned, sticking around longer. Feeling something move past him again seconds later, he turned around and ran, fear of the unknown filling him. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, because he only cared about what had spooked him. For a long time he ran through the darkness, panting and heart beating fast from adrenaline. When everything was quiet, Robin slowed to a walk, staying on high alert still. He looked this way and that frantically, almost expecting something dangerous to jump out at him. When he finally stopped to regain his breath, the wind returned, soft at first, but was gradually getting stronger. Robin swallowed, anticipating the eerie voice to appear.

The voice did come back, but it almost sounded like music. Robin's eyes slowly narrowed, trying to make out what the voice was saying, but it was all gibberish to him. Maybe it was some dead language that no one knew about? Over the years, Robin had learned to speak many different languages, but none came close to the one he heard now all around him. Swallowing, Robin took a step back as the voice grew louder and creepier. He looked around, trying to find who the voice belonged to, but there was no one or anything there. Slowly, it dawned on Robin on what the voice might be. Were there strange spirits around here?

Suddenly behind him, Robin heard his name being called, the wind accentuated on the vowels. His eyes widened as he froze while slowly turning his head. When he saw no one, he turned his foot to stand sideways, staring to the left with eyes narrowed. Up ahead, he faintly saw something luminescent but not too bright seventy to eighty feet away. Turning towards it completely, Robin started to approach it.

Robin stepped out of a clearing a few minutes later, intrigued by what he saw. In the middle of nowhere, there was a square building made up entirely of carved but rocky stone. It almost looked like a Mayan temple, just slightly different. Rather than stairs leading up to an opening, a rectangle hole was on the ground, which was pitch black inside. Leaves and debris rolled across the ground towards the hole as the wind came through. Something invisible streaked by Robin and he heard the strange voice again. Somewhere, deep inside his skin, he felt compelled to follow it. Swallowing, he took his first step towards the entrance, being overly cautious.

When Robin made it just inside the opening, he heard the howling wind going deep inside. He took a step closer while looking down, expecting to see a vast room or staircase leading down into the ground. When he couldn't see anything, he took a step closer. Harsh wind blew right into his body out of nowhere, like it was trying to force him inside. Robin decided just to comply, a strange, soft numbness washing over him. After three more steps, he stepped down onto a step of a downward staircase, freezing momentarily due to surprise. Down deep below in the darkness, he heard the eerie voice calling to him in its weird language. Releasing a heavy breath from the O-shape of his mouth that he made, Robin began to descend the stairs.

There were hundreds of steps leading down into the darkness, but still Robin moved forward, determined to find out why the wind and voice brought him here. Several minutes past and it was beginning to feel like the stairs never ended. Was he descending into nothing but a bottomless pit? Robin definitely hoped not.

What felt like years later, Robin finally stepped off the last stair and stopped to look ahead. In the distance, he could almost see a faint white glow that pulsed every few seconds. All around him, Robin felt like there was something invisible watching him closely. Swallowing the sudden lump down in his throat, he took one step towards the glow, feeling the invisible thing moving with him. He then took another step, then another, then another, and then, eventually, was walking straight for the glow. Still the eerie voice, wind, and invisible presence followed him, but he was so used to them now that he didn't care. All he wanted to do was reach that glow that only seemed to get bigger the closer he was to it. Any minute now and he would make it to the end, but at what cost?

The glow illuminated the walls around Robin as he was ten feet away. It was stationary, hovering in the middle of the room, but it began to diminish the closer Robin was from it. The howling of wind was all around the room, but it wasn't cold or hot. Eventually, the teen reached the glow, which gradually vanished. As he slowly looked up at what was directly in front of him, Robin's lips began to part, his breath coming out of his mouth. His eyes soon widened in astonishment at what lay before him.

A large cube hovered in the air, moving up and down a few inches, as if it was alive and breathing. Carved all the way around the cube were strange symbols of an ancient, dead language, as well as weird pictures. As Robin looked at the top left corner, it slowly dawned on him at what he was seeing. His eyes were wide open now and he was breathing a little louder and harder.

This side of the cube was telling Robin a story with pictures and symbols that he slowly began to recognize. The top scene depicted the Big Bang, the theory being that it had created the infinite universe. There was a picture of an explosion, then a large cluster of stars and planets packed together, and finally shooting stars and meteors and asteroids traveling through the vast darkness. On the next scene below the first, there were pictures of several different galaxies, some probably never even discovered by Earthling scientists, and what appeared to be millions of odd alien creatures, some humanoid, many not. As Robin got near the bottom of the cube, somehow understanding the story being told, it very slowly started to rotate before his eyes.

The next side showed individual galaxies with planets, stars, asteroids, and meteors, all of which surrounded what appeared to be the Milky Way. Round symbols that were probably the nine planets of his solar system orbited a symbol of the sun. Like a ton of bricks, Robin understood what this large panorama meant and why it was so significant.

"Our galaxy is…the center of the universe?" he whispered.

The sun symbol began to glow after what Robin said quietly echoed around the room. Soon, the planets and other surrounding galaxies began to glow as well. They got brighter and brighter, but Robin wasn't blinded by them, for some reason. The lights actually washed over him while wind rustled through his hair and clothes. Once the glows vanished, the cube rotated again, showing just a scene of the Milky Way, the planet and star symbols rotating in a clockwise direction. From the top right corner, something appeared randomly, streaking towards one of the planets. Again, Robin somehow knew what he was seeing. Something gigantic and spherical was flying towards Earth.

As soon as the sphere with random-shaped holes on it vanished after touching the planet, the cube rotated a final time and an outline of thousands of acres of a grassy knoll filled the whole side of the cube. The sphere appeared from the right hand side, slightly bigger than the previous scene, and crashed into the top mound of the hill, creating a small crater. Nothing happened for several seconds, but then the sphere pulsed with light. It gradually began to shrink, as if a camera was pulling far away from the sphere. All around, symbols that looked like people and weapons appeared, moving around the scene fluidly. As these symbols started taking down other symbols, the pulsing energy from the sphere increased in size and then in speed. For several long, agonizing seconds, the glow got bigger, brighter, and faster, almost covering Robin completely like the last time this happened. As soon as the human symbols were all gone, the pulsing light was snuffed out and cracks appeared in the sphere.

The scene stopped for a moment, giving Robin enough time to see something out of the bottom of his eyes. Looking down, he saw another human symbol, this one with odd-looking wings on its back, moving towards the sphere. Once it was ten inches away, the symbol streaked towards the sphere, wings flapping briskly to give it speed. Near the bottom of its head, a small ball of glowing energy came forward in front of the head, aimed for the cracked sphere. Once the two opposing forces touched, the sphere and ball flashed a bright white, slowly filling the entire square. This time, the light blinded Robin, forcing him to cover his face with his arms and step back several times. He carefully glanced through the cracks of his arms when the light diminished, seeing the glow sucking in on itself before it snuffed out. Slowly, Robin lowered his arms, feeling his heart almost beating out of his chest.

When the cube was done showing Robin the story, all the symbols began to slowly disappear, until it was just flat stone. As soon as the last piece vanished, the cube fell hard, crashing into the stone floor and cracking it. Robin stared at it with wide open eyes, dumbstruck at what just happened. Once more, he knew exactly what this all meant just by seeing it for the very first and only time.

"You understand now, don't you—" Robin slowly began to look over his shoulder in shock. "—Richard?"

Robin's eyes were wide as he saw the transparent figure standing behind him, white and faintly glowing. Closing his mouth and swallowing hard, he slowly turned around, then stepped back, facing someone he knew to be dead.

"Dad…"


	19. A New World Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

"Dad…"

Standing in front of Robin was his deceased father, John Grayson. He couldn't tell if this transparent figure was a ghost or spirit or a figment of his imagination. All he knew was that it looked and sounded like his dad. But why? If it was his father's spirit, why was it here, of all places, and just showing up now, after almost eleven excruciating years of death? What exactly was going on here?

John stared almost gravely at Robin, but his voice was steady and calm. After a few seconds, he blinked. "It is good to see you, my son. I only wish it could have been during better circumstances." There was a pause. Robin didn't know whether to move closer or back away from his father's apparition, so he stayed still. "You must want to know why you and I are here." Robin just nodded numbly. Closing his eyes, John sighed. "I would love to tell you that this all just some horrible nightmare and that you will wake up soon," he continued, looking up, "but I can't lie to you. This time, this place, this war, it is _all _real. What you saw on the cube was for your eyes only. Many men and women have seen it, but it did nothing before their eyes. It did not tell them of the horrible fate that would happen to our world. The cube's story was made for you and only you."

John paused, to see if Robin would react in some way. He was still and silent for a very long time, still trying to process all this. His dead father of nearly eleven years was standing before him, telling him of this cube that foretold something that Robin still didn't quite understand, so it would take him some time to think of something to say about all of this.

"Richard, I know that you don't understand what all of this means yet, and I know you're confused and even a little afraid." Robin blinked. "But you have to say _something_."

Again, John waited for Robin to do something besides stand there silently. After a few more seconds, the teen blinked a few times.

"Why are you here?"

"To help you understand."

Robin's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Understand what? That I'm some part of a bigger picture? What does this damn war have to do with me and some stupid cube? Why am I burdened with this?"

John sighed. "I can't just downright tell you from such wide open questions. You have to gradually build up to the final question that I know you are dying so much to ask me."

Robin finally glared, getting angry. "Why?"

"Blame the spiritual world and its harsh rules. Now please, ask the right questions as quickly as you can. I don't have much time."

Robin continued to glare at him, wishing he could stop since this was his dad and he didn't want to be mad at him. "Fine. Am I connected to this war, _somehow_?"

"Yes."

"Did it happen _because _of me?"

John shook his head. "No, it happened because of someone else."

"Who?"

"The one you seek in Ireland is to blame for this, Richard," John answered.

"The meteor? Assuming that's what it even is…"

"Yes…and no."

Lowering his gaze and closing his eyes for a few seconds, Robin sighed. "The cube, it looked as if our galaxy is the center of the universe. Am I wrong?"

John shook his head again. "No, you are not wrong."

"Is that why the war is happening here?" Robin asked next. "On Earth?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Is that the only reason?"

John shook his head. "No."

"What are those reasons?"

John sighed. "I am afraid you will have to discover the answers to that on your own."

Robin blinked a few times, trying to think of something different to ask about. "Where is mom? Is she here too?"

Sadness crossed John's face. "She passed on almost as soon as we died. I have been alone for a very long time."

Robin felt a pang of despair in his heart at hearing this. He wished he could see her, too. But Robin had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Why me? Why now? And how do you know all of these things? Is it because you're clairvoyant?"

John reverted his gaze. "No."

"Then how-?"

John looked away. "Your mother and I have known this time would come, long before you were born."

Robin's brow furrowed as he frowned. "What? How? Why didn't you tell me when you were alive? I could have prevented any of this from happening had I-"

John looked back up at him. "Your mother and I went to a gypsy fortune teller not long after we eloped. I knew your mother's heritage when we were first met, when she told me about herself on our first date. The fortune teller predicted that we would have a very important son in the near future. She warned us about this war, telling us that you were a huge part of it."

A glare appeared on Robin's face. "If you knew all this time, why didn't you tell me?! I had _every_ right to know my-!"

John took a quick step closer, looking frantic. "We wanted to tell you, Richard! Every goddamn _day_ we wanted to forewarn you, but you were too young to understand! We wanted to wait until your thirteenth birthday, but we-!" John stopped, his eyes widening. There was a pause before he slowly lowered his gaze to the floor. Tears formed in Robin's eyes when he realized what his father had been about to say. John soon sighed, looking and feeling ashamed. "We just never got the chance…"

They went silent for a very long time. Robin's tears had tracked down his cheeks, but they dried up and he blinked. He soon sighed. "What can I do?" John looked at him. Robin was staring at the ground. "How do I stop the war?"

"You must destroy the very thing that threatens the balance between good and bad, right and wrong. But only you have the power to do it. But…you will find help in the most unexpected of ways. You have had so much help already, and not just during the war." Robin glanced up. "Bruce, the Titans, Ishmael, King, Slade; they have _all _helped you, even if it didn't seem that way. Your friends- No, your _family_, have always been there for you. Fate has a way-"

"-of bringing two or more people together," Robin finished. "I know. But now I'm starting to really hate it…"

"That is understandable."

"…What happens now? Are you passing on, like mom did?"

John inclined his head forward. "Yes, I can finally join her in the afterlife. But I can't until you no longer have questions to ask me."

Letting out a breath, Robin had just a few more important questions to ask. "Is the very final battlefield far from here?"

"Yes, it is a few days walk from the cliffs."

"Is there a safe way to reach it? I want to avoid as much fighting as we can before we enter the final battle."

Lowering his head, John thought about it for a few seconds. He looked back up. "Continue east through this forest. Once you reach a small, deserted town, head south from a bridge. The town is considered haunted, so not many venture there."

Robin nodded. "Thank you. One more small group of questions: Do you know the outcome of this war? Do I win? What happens to me when it's all over?"

"I am afraid I don't possess those answers. Just be careful and cautious, and you should do just fine." John smiled weakly. "I believe in you." Robin blinked a few more times at him, sadness creeping up inside of him. If his father's time was up, then Robin would never see him face-to-face ever again. He didn't want him to leave him again. Sensing his emotional pain, John walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him. Robin's eyes widened, actually able to feel him. "Your mother and I loved you more than anything in this world. I am sorry our bonds had to be severed far too early on. Fate _is _the cruelest thing in our entire universe. We have missed you just as much as you have missed us. And we are sorry for it…"

Robin's eyes had narrowed in despair from being held by his father one last time. Tears sprang to his eyes and fell down his face. They passed through John, landing on the floor. As the hug tightened, John's spirit body gradually began to fade. This caused Robin to cry harder. He lifted his arms, to try touching his father one more time, but he waited too long. As his hands went through him, John disappeared. With the feeling of tight, warm arms around him lost, Robin dropped his arms and head, sobbing and crying. Why did everyone he used to love have to be gone? Why couldn't their spirits be with him when he needed them the most? Why was he so, _so _alone…?

A calm silence fell over Robin. He allowed his tears to hit the floor, not bothering to stop his crying. He felt like he desperately needed to cry, to just let it all go on his own terms. In a way, it comforted him, knowing he still had his feelings intact. His heart was hardened, but he himself was not. He still loved, still cared, still wanted to end everyone's suffering. Robin would end this war, or he would die trying.

Slowly, Robin opened his eyes and lifted his head a few centimeters. A few feet away, someone solid was standing there, staring at him. Looking up with wet, teary eyes, Robin saw Slade staring at him with a look of understanding and care. Walking over to him, the ex-villain grabbed his shoulders gently and pulled him up against him. Closing his eyes and sniffing, Robin rested his head on his chest, his left hand grabbing Slade's forearm under his elbow. He cried silently against the man's chest, not thinking of a single damn thing…

* * *

><p>Slade and Robin emerged from the stone temple a few minutes later. The rest of the group was fifteen feet away, waiting. The duo stopped a few feet away.<p>

"There is a deserted town not far from here," Robin said in a normal, but tired voice. "We will rest there for a while before we reach the final battlefield." No one responded. Red glanced around quickly before jerking his hand up in the air. "What?"

Red dropped his arm. "How do you know that?"

Staring at him blankly for a moment, Robin turned in the right direction and started walking. Slade followed soon after, keeping a close eye on him. Soon, everyone else followed, trusting Robin completely. They walked through the forest for a few hours before the trees began to thin out. An hour after sunrise, they came into a gigantic clearing, where a small, deserted town, the buildings and electric poles gradually deteriorating for whatever reason, was located. It was down in a very shallow valley. A few rusted, abandoned vehicles were along the sometimes cracked sidewalks or lying in the roads. The large group stopped to stare at this pitiful, dead space for a few seconds before they continued.

Being cautious as they got closer to the first building, everyone checked to make sure no enemy soldiers were in hiding, waiting for any unsuspecting travelers to ambush, but the town was completely deserted, as John had said. Once they reached the middle of town, Robin stopped them and turned around.

"Do whatever you need to do right now on your own terms. If you're hungry, see if there are any stores with supplies or weapons that we can use. If you're tired, find a place to sleep. And just be careful. I have reason to believe this place is haunted."

"What? Haunted?" Red asked, exasperated. "Why do you think that?"

"God, Red, just keep an eye out for monsters or spirits or whatever, I don't really care," Robin answered haughtily before he turned around and started walking away. "I'm going to bed. If anyone wants to join me, fine."

Everyone stared after Robin, most looking concerned. Red glanced at Slade out of the corner his eye, having a feeling he knew why Robin was acting odder than usual.

"Why would he think this place is haunted?"

Slade glanced at him. "I am sure he has his reasons."

"Oh. Well, maybe that temple got to him."

As Slade looked away to follow after Robin, he rolled his eyes but didn't say a word. Red scowled after them before heading off to explore. All day everyone did whatever they wanted, deciding to take it easy. Slade and Robin had found a small bed and breakfast earlier. Slade had waited outside to act as a watchdog while Robin cried himself to sleep in a broken down bed. By nightfall, everyone met up at the B&B, bringing with them useful stuff they found. They all sat in the eating area near the back end of the building, just hanging out and having something to eat for dinner, which consisted mostly of cold soup and stale cereal or crackers and chips. As it got colder and darker, Slade made a small fire not far from the tables for light and warmth. Robin was currently outside on the back patio, sitting in a rocking chair as he stared out in the distance in silence. Somewhere in that direction, hundreds, maybe even thousands of men and women were fighting and killing each other due to whatever mystical force was controlling their minds. Any day now and his companions would be joining them to stop it. _If _they could stop them. Robin was running out of confidence even faster now that they were so close.

"Can I join you?"

Looking to his right, Robin saw King standing there with a blank expression. "If you want to."

Nodding, King grabbed another rocking chair and brought it next to Robin. They stared in the same direction in silence for a long time. King soon looked at the teen.

"There's still plenty of time for us to change our minds you know. We don't _have _to fight, or save anyone, for that matter. We could rebuild this town for when the fighting stops on its own."

Robin wouldn't look at King as he said, "No, I have to see this damn war to the end." There was a long pause before Robin finally looked at King. "Do you believe in destiny?"

King blinked. "I…haven't really thought about it. Do you?"

Robin looked back at the trees. "No idea…"

He went silent as King looked on, wanting to help Robin in some way. The problem was, he didn't know how to. Robin had no one to rely on but himself now it seemed. That just made King, and everyone else, completely useless. Half an hour later and everyone grabbed a room to sleep in for the night. King and Red shared one, discussing their tactics for the final battle and figuring out how they could help Robin if and when the time came. In the room Robin had napped in, he was laying on his right side on the bed, his eyes half open. Slade was sitting at the small table, checking out all of their weapons and ammo, making sure they had enough and that everything still worked. In the morning, he would fire all their firearms to be completely sure they wouldn't break or get jammed. They didn't need any of their comrades attacked by their own weapons.

"…John was in the temple."

Slade's head jerked up from the rifle he was looking down the barrel of to look at Robin. "Who? What?"

Robin wouldn't look at him as he replied, "My father, John. He was in the temple."

Slade's eyes widened and he quickly put the rifle down on the table. "What do you mean he was there?"

"…Rather, it was his ghost than his physical body," Robin corrected himself, his voice soft and tired. "For eleven years he has waited for this day to come. He told me how before I was even born that him and my mother knew of the war and my destiny, if you'd like to call it that." There was a pause. Slade continued to stare at Robin in surprise. After a few seconds, Robin closed his eyes, lowering his head a few inches. "That stone cube that was in the temple showed me the Fate of this world. It told me through images that Earth is the center of the universe and that only I could save it from destruction. It was a prophecy, meant only for me. So many people have discovered that temple and the truth, but none of them could see what I could." Robin's eyes slowly opened, brimming with tears. "I keep trying to figure out exactly why _I _was chosen to end this war. What do I possess that no other person or being has? Who decided that I was the right person for this messed up job? Fate, destiny, God, who? And why? That's all I want…"

The room fell deathly silent as Slade stared at Robin. If only he could give Robin the answers he sought after. Even with an almost one hundred percent, fully functioning brain, Slade was just as stumped as he was. There was nothing the man could do but sit and watch, feeling utterly useless.

"I wish…I knew what to say…"

There was a pause.

"You and me both…"


	20. A New World Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 2 and 4

(Next chapter will be longer—**Sladin5Ever**)

* * *

><p>Robin didn't know how long he slept before a loud commotion not far from his room reached his more enhanced ears, rousing him from his sleep. Grumbling, he shoved the blanket off his body, sat up, and then got to his feet. He worked on flattening down his bed hair on his way to the closed door. As he stepped out, he heard yelling and fighting down the hall.<p>

"What in the world are you people doing at a time like this?" he inquired as he found the source of the commotion.

Behind him, a door opened and King poked his head out, looking dead tired. "Hey! Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

Two of the soldiers seemed to have been having a shouting match in the hallway. The one in front of Robin suddenly shoved the other soldier backwards, who fell, landing right on the second floor landing.

"I've had enough of your goddamn crap Damian!"

Scowling, Robin grabbed the standing soldier's arm and shoved him around. "What the hell is the _matter_ with you?!"

Growling in anger, the soldier lunged at Robin, shoving him against the opposite wall. "Don't fucking touch me, faggot!"

"_HEY!_"

Ignoring Slade's angry yell at the stairs, Robin quickly socked the soldier in the face, forcing his head to jerk hard to the side and fall to the floor in a slight daze. The teen then lifted his right foot swiftly and slammed it hard into the man's gut, winding him. He curled up into a ball, wheezing as he breathed. Lowering his foot back down, Robin glared at him.

"Call me that again, and I will kill you…" When all was unsettling still and quiet, Robin turned towards the stairs and stepped over the fallen soldier. He walked over to the one named Damian, crouched down, and touched his arm. "Are you alright?"

With the help of Slade by his head, Damian sat up, rubbing the back of his head, which had hit the wood floor. "I'm fine."

After Slade helped Damian stand and he was no longer aching in the head, Robin asked, "What happened? Why were you two fighting?"

Damian sighed. "I don't know what got into him. We were just walking around due to insomnia, and then he just got angry for no reason. Ever since we met during the war, he's always helped me out when I needed it and he's saved my life a few times, which he was happy to do. But then, all of a sudden, he just…hated it; said he was sick of it…?"

There was a pause as Robin thought about this for a bit. Damian's friend was still on the floor behind them. Robin soon turned back to the soldier on the floor, staring down at him.

"What happened before you started fighting? How were you feeling before that?"

The soldier stared at the floor with narrowed eyes. "…I felt fine."

And that was all he said. Robin stared at him for a few more seconds before looking at everyone. "Whether you believe in ghosts or not, try to stay relaxed and get some sleep. If this town is haunted, it could affect your mood."

Without waiting for any response from anyone, Robin turned back towards the hallway and walked back to his room. Slade, King, and Damian watched him go in silence. The door closed with a faint slam behind the teen. Once the air had cleared, King went back into his room, closing the door. Although the soldier had been angry and mean to him, Damian still went to him and helped him up. Slade watched them walk away before heading back down the stairs to return to what he had been doing before.

Around eleven in the morning, everyone acted like nothing had happened last night as they headed out of the town. No one hardly slept due to the fear of ghosts or spirits taking control of their bodies, so they were tired.

"It will take a few days to reach our destination," Robin explained. "We'll try to rest the best we can before the day we get there. If you want to back out now, this is your last chance." No one said anything. Giving a nod, Robin turned away and headed out of the other end of town. "Let's try to get as far away from here as we can and never come back."

No one could agree more with this statement. For the whole day, no one made conversation or paid much attention to their surroundings. Damian and his friend were back to normal now and the soldier had apologized for his behavior during the night. Later that night, everyone was exhausted and almost everyone for asleep right away. Ishmael sat next to Robin closest to the blazing fire, trying to keep warm. He kept glancing at the teen in contemplation.

"_Robin-"_

Out of nowhere, Red X came between them, sitting down. "No matter what happens in a few days, we will face it, together."

Robin glanced at him. "All of you will face it together, but I-"

"No, no, just because you're going to face the meteor alone, doesn't mean we're not together," Red interrupted. "Even if we're not physically there, we are still going to help you." Red turned his body slightly to face Robin better. "Trust me on this, none of us are alone. You especially. I promise."

Robin blinked a few times at him, not knowing what to say or think about what he just said. But Ishmael understood. He also understood why Red had interrupted him. Now was not the time to tell Robin the entire truth about the reason behind this war. Once the final showdown occurred, then Robin would find out. It was all just a matter of time…

* * *

><p>They were so close, they could all feel it. In just half a day, Robin and his traveling crew would reach the final battlefield and face their greatest challenge yet. Nothing could prepare them for tomorrow. Every step closer made Robin feel like running away and letting the war ride out; just fuck destiny and Fate altogether. And yet still he walked, moving ever closer to the end. Fear was driving him forward instead of back.<p>

"We're not even there yet and I feel very overwhelmed," a soldier said out of the blue.

"Let's try to keep those comments to ourselves," King suggested, glancing at Robin in particular.

"Sorry…"

"We're all feeling it, it's fine," Slade reassured him.

The soldier just nodded, but kept quiet the rest of the way. In the lead, Robin stared at the ground, his eyes narrowed in exhaustion even though he wasn't remotely sleepy. No one could feel this heavy feeling on them as much as he could. That was part of his curse that Fate had cast on him. It was his burden to bear, no one else's.

That night, as they stopped to sleep, they were just a few hours away from the battlefield. After a good amount of sleep, they would finish their travels and fight to live. Needing to be alone for a while, Robin found the darkest place he could find and laid curled up in a relaxed fetal position. At the fire, King was sitting with Red, looking at everyone.

"Red and I decided to work together during the fight, so if you can do the same, we will have a better chance at survival. We also decided to avoid killing as many people as possible. If they are fighting against their own free will, then they don't deserve to die, just like neither of us deserve to die. Try to avoid as many fatalities as you can. We'll end up more sane that way. We have come so far, we can't lose hope or spirit now."

If only it was that simple…

An hour later, Robin returned to the campsite, sitting far from the fire with his back to everyone. They glanced at him but left him alone. It didn't take long for many of them to fall asleep, although they were only half asleep because of the unforeseeable outcome of their fight and the end of the war. Or the world, whichever came first.

"You should get some sleep too."

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw Slade sit down beside him. "Said the insomniac…"

Grabbing the side of his head, Slade pulled Robin against his side and then wrapped his arm around him. "I don't need sleep. You do." Exhaling out of his nose, Robin closed his eyes and snuggled up closer to him. Slade laid the side of his head on the teen's. "I love you…" he whispered.

"Mmh, you…cheese-ball…"

Chuckling, Slade wrapped his other arm around him too. "I'll take that as an "I love you, too"."

"M…kay…"

Robin trailed off as sleep finally consumed him.

Hours later, everyone woke up, feeling refreshed after some good sleep. Although the overwhelming and dark feeling was still heavy around them, it had exhausted them into oblivion for a while. Which was deeming to be a good thing as they continued on their way. Closer to noon, their path was becoming more bare, which was lucky since an ambush would be harder to conduct. They would be ready at the first signs of trouble.

"_We are almost there," _Ishmael said forty minutes later. _"It is worse than I imagined…"_

Robin relayed the first part only. "I won't think any less of any of you if you decide to run away at the last second. Your lives are far more important to me than you fighting and potentially losing your lives."

"We're not going anywhere," Damian said determinedly.

Robin really wished they would. They continued the rest of the way in silence. An hour later and the sounds of firearms, shouting and yelling, and blades clashing could faintly be heard from their position. They all stopped for a brief moment, to take deep breaths, and then kept going. Minutes later and the first group of fighters could be seen. They could also see a lot of dead bodies strewn all over the place. Robin ignored the sickening feeling in his stomach as he kept leading the way. He was feeling even worse with each passing second.

Once they were close enough before people noticed them, Robin stopped the group and turned to face them. "This is it. Try not to die out there. I am going to find the meteor as quickly as I can and figure out what to do with it once I do." He paused. "Please stay safe."

The soldiers nodded before they formed their own two- or three-person parties, withdrew their desired weapons and ammo, attached extras to their bodies, and finally discarded their backpacks before they began to charge. King, Red X, and Ishmael stood in front of Slade and Robin. There was a heavy moment of dead silence between them before King cleared his throat, addressing Robin.

"Red and I already have a battle plan ready. We're going to avoid as many fatalities as we can. If this meteor is causing people to act this way, then they don't deserve to die. If we have to break arms and legs only, then we will."

"…Good luck."

Smiling sadly, King wrapped his arms around Robin tightly, tears forming in his eyes. "Please don't die…"

As he stepped back after the hug ended, Slade placed a hand on King's shoulder. "I won't let him."

Swiftly wiping his tears away, King grinned. "I will hold you to that then." After a few seconds, he turned to Red. "Do you remember the plan?"

Red mock saluted. "Yes sir!" Nodding, King withdrew all the weapons and ammo he could carry on his person, discarded his backpack, and was ready to get started. Red did the same before crouching in front of Ishmael, who looked disheartened. "You know what you've gotta do?"

Ishmael nodded, almost reluctantly. _"I do."_

Patting his head, Red stood up, withdrew two medium-bladed knives from his hips, and then swung them around in his hands. "Let's end this; together."

Red winked at Robin before he ran into battle, King following him behind. Ishmael stepped up to Robin, placing his hand on his arm.

"_Be careful."_

Blinking down at him, Robin carefully placed his hand on Ishmael's head, held it there for two seconds, and then faintly patted it. "I will."

While lowering his hand, Robin turned around, took off his pack and dropped it next to him, and then pulled out one of the rifles that stuck out at the top. Slade was loading his own weapons and ammo onto his body as the teen got ready. Without either of them noticing, Ishmael vanished, needing to be ready for when his destiny came into play.

'_Good luck, Chosen One. When the time comes, we will meet again.'_

Minutes later and Slade and Robin were ready to face their own enemies. Robin had a gut feeling he knew where to go, but it would require going through hundreds or even thousands of forces to get there. He needed to last at least three or four hours to get through this mess.

"While you make your way for the meteor landing site, I will protect you," Slade told him, sensing Robin's uncertainty. "You focus more time getting there and less time about fighting anyone. You will need your stamina by the time you reach the meteor."

Robin took a deep breath before letting it out in a heavy sigh. "I know…"

Slade placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up, Robin. We're almost there."

Nodding, Robin slung the rifle strap over his head and laid it against his shoulder, keeping the long muzzle against his back. He then took his first step towards Fate's cruelty, putting a determined look on his face even though he didn't feel very determined.

"Let's go."


	21. AUTHOR NOTE

*Cries and wails loudly* I AM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER YOU GUYS! I feel so bad but I've been having such terrible writers block on current fics and I feel terrible for the long wait periods D: My only good excuse is that I have turned my attention to a future fic that I will hopefully be posting in June called White Rabbit. It'll be a Teen Titans Season 5-based fan fic where instead of Robin becoming frozen, he is forced to work for the Brotherhood of Evil. Slade will be heavily involved, but I won't say how. You'll just have to find out this summer once I start posting the story ;) I've been trying to get as much done as I can on it, so that's another reason why I haven't worked on these current ones

Again, I am so sorry that I'm such a failure at updating ;.; I have just been so stuck and lazy and a loser and hnnnnnnnnnng! But I am going to try much harder to work on fics and get them updated in an orderly fashion. I want to try finishing both A New World and Once Bitten first since they're a few chapters away from being complete, whereas Silent Birdsong will take much longer (I'm going to try and speed up the storyline pace a bit) I will try to update as soon as I can though, I promise!

Again, very, VERY sorry OTL

**Sladin5Ever**


	22. Author Note IMPORTANT!

**Please read my profile for updated information about my account; thank you**


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